1/  Yf'-frM' 


FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS; 

OB, 

WHAT  YOU  DID  HOT  fl(EAR  DURING 


FROM 

JANUARY  1861  TO  JA.NI7ARY  1866. 
A  NARRATIVE  OF  HIS 

Travels,  Experiences,  anb  ©bservations, 

IN 

TEXAS  AND  MEXICO. 


BY 

THOMAS  NORTH. 


CINCINNATI: 

ELM  STREET  PRINTING  Co.,  17G  &  178  ELM  STREET. 
1871. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1871, 

BY  THOMAS  NORTH, 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress. 


n  O  conceive  the  idea,  and  execute  the  purpose  of  making 
a  book,  is,  to  a  modest  man,  not  a  little  monstrous ;  and 
yet,  modest  or  immodest,  monstrous  or  not,  the  author 
makes  his  best  bow  to  the  reader,  and  holds  himself 
subject  to  criticism  for  not  making  it  better.  But  many  are 
running  to  and  fro  in  the  earth,  and  knowledge  is  being  in- 
creased ;  for  the  runners,  are  they  not  making  books  for  the 
million  ?  And  having  run  somewhat  with  the  runners  our- 
self,  we  might  as  well  tell  our  story  of  travel  too.  The  story 
is  not  of  sailing  round  the  world  with  Captain  Cook,  or  any 
other  Sea  King.  Nor  is  it  one  of  Orient — of  Oriental  clirnea 
or  times,  or  of  its  discords  or  chimes,  but  it  is  one  that  per- 
tains to  stirring  events,  in  stirring  times,  in  the  most  stir- 
ring of  all  stirring  climes — America,  our  own  sweet  land  of 
liberty. 

The  Author,  in  justice  to  himself,  will  state  that  in  prepar- 
ing this  book  for  publication,  he  has  been  sore  pressed  for 
time  to  bring  it  out  with  that  degree  of  merit,  literary  and 
otherwise,  that  he  would  have  it  possess. 

The  Eulogium  on  Hon.  Martin  P.  Sweet,  which  we  offer 
as  our  prelude,  is  at  once  an  act  of  friendship  and  pleasure, 


IV.  PREFACE. 

as  well  as  of  justice,  to  one  of  such  brilliant  mental  endow- 
ments and  genial  qualities  of  heart,  and  we  believe  our 
readers  will  so  regard  it.  Besides,  while  some  may  not  fully 
appreciate  the  relevancy  of  the  Eulogy  to  the  residue  of 
the  book,  yet,  for  himself,  the  Author  sees  and  feels  a  species 
of  mystical  connection  between  Mr.  S.  and  himself  in  all  his 
travels  and  experiences  in  Texas  and  Mexico.  And  so 
much  the  more  because  of  his  earnest  prophetic  endeavor  to 
dissuade  him  from  going  there. 

With  this  brief  preface,  we  submit  this  volume  to  the 
public  eye,  hoping  to  please  and  interest,  promising  that  we 
will  do  better  next  time,  if  we  ever  publish  another  book. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTEK  I. 

PAGE. 

Hon.  Martin  P.  Sweet — Interview  with  and  Eulo- 
giiim 9-29 

CHAPTEE  II. 
Trip  to  Galveston — Memphis  Gentleman 30-40 

CHAPTEK  III. 
Social  Types— Henry  Clay— General  Polk -  41-44 

CHAPTEK  IV. 

Voyage  Down  the  Mississippi — Poem  on  "  Varie- 
ties' Theater." 45-50 

CHAPTER  V. 

New  Orleans — Description  of — Ocean  View  of  Gal- 
veston— The  Island,  How  Formed — Commercial 
Importance  of,  etc 51-64 

CHAPTEK  VI. 

Effect  of  Climate  on  Tastes,  Apppetites  and 
Temper — The  Enraged  Clergyman — "Renegade 
Americans" — Morals  and  Religion — Reign  of 
Terror— The  Robbery 65-70 


vi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Texas  Oath  of  Office— "Code  of  Honor"— Duel- 
ing Spirit — Judge  Lynch  and  Horse  Thieves — 
The  Doctor  of  Divinity — Conscript  Law — "  Like 
People,  Like  Priest" 71-75 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  Doctor's  Prize  Ring  Illustration— The  Weal- 
thy Planteress — The  Doctor's  Dueling  Card — 
Colloquy  with  the  Planteress — The  Doctor  and 
the  Judge — He  Challenges  the  Latter— Shoot- 
ing on  Sight — Masonic  Reconciliation 76-85 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Babel  of  Tongues — Sara  Houston — He  Comes  to 
Galveston  to  make  a  Speech — A  Committee  Wait 
on  Him — He  Makes  a  Speech — His  Appearance 
On  the  Balcony  of  Tremont  Hotel 86-91 

CHAPTER  X. 

Houston's  Speech — Col.  Moore's  Regiment — Gen- 
eral Houston's  Review  of  it — Williamson  S.  Old- 
ham  and  Judge  Campbell. 92-98 

CHAPTER  XI. 
Arguments  on  Secession  in  Outline 99-101 

CHAPTER  XII. 

Texas  Never  Invaded — Feeling  of  the  People — 
Galveston  Retaken — General  Sherman  and  Lt. 
Sherman — Solemn  Scene  Between  Them — Gen- 
eral Magruder  and  General  Hebert 102-113 


CONTENTS.  Vfl 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

The  Federal  Fleet—"  Nicaragua  Smith." 114-117 

CHAPTEE  XIV. 

The  Captured  Letter— Mrs,  E.'s  exile— Her  Com- 
panions— Lewis  and  Emma — Lieutenant  H 118-154 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Lawlessness  and  Crime — Doctor  O.  and  the  Over- 
seer—Doctor F.  Assassinated — Capt.  Carr  and 
Mr.  Smythe. 165-161 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

The  Two  Days'  Meeting — Power  of  Prejudice — 
The  Feast  at  Our  House — Brigadier  General  M. 
and  Staff. 162-166 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

rhe  Conscript  Law— How  the  Writer  Beat  It,  and 
How  at  last  It  Beat  Him — Trip  to  Mexico — 
Matamoras — General  Mejia — The  Situation — 
Rev.  Dr.  L.  and  the  Writer — Petitioning  Max- 
imilian— Preaching  in  Varieties'  Theater 167-172 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

More  about  Texas — Plot  against  the  Writer's  Life 
— Pretext  for  the  Attack — Prompt  Action  of  Dep- 
uty Sheriff  Hardin — Fear  of  Secret  Assassina- 
tion— Advised  to  Leave  the  Place — Went  to  San 
Antonio — Thence  to  Mexico — Lost  in  the  Wilds 
of  Western  Texas— How  We  Got  Out— The  Two 
Mexican  Rancheros — Gen.  F.  J.  H. — Extradi- 
tion of  Don  Manuel  G.  Rejon — Cortinas — The 
Writer's  Family  Flooded  Out  in  San  Antonio — 
They  Come  to  Him  in  Matamorae 173-182 


Vlil  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTEK  XIX. 

Lee's  Surrender— Effect  on  Texas  Soldiers— Trip 

to  New  Orleans — Family  Ship  North — Writer's 

Beturn  to  Texas — He  Visits  Brenham,  Austin, 

San  Antonio  and  New  Braunfels — Rev.  Josiah 

I     Whipple— The  Old   Woman   in   Austin  What 

Wouldn't  Hear  the  Blue  Coat  Preach 183-190 

CHAPTER  XX. 

Governor  Hamilton— The  Thirty  Neroes-The  Old 
German  and  His  Wife — Fight  with  Indians — 
A  Native  Texan's  Opinion  of  Germans 191-195 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

Texas— Topography,  Climate  and  Products  of 196-210. 

OLD  LETTERS,— POEM. 

Canto  1 213-222 

Canto  II 223-225 

Canto  III. . , 226-231 


FIVE  YEJ^S  IN  TEXAS. 


CHAPTER    I. 

HON.    MARTIN   P.    SWAET — INTERVIEW   WITH,   AND 
KULOGIUM. 

N  the  month  of  November,  1860,  shortly  after 
the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  United  States,  Hon.  Mar- 
tin P.  Sweet  came  into  the  Circuit  Clerk's 
Office  of  Stephenson  County,  Illinois,  where  the 
writer  was  acting  as  deputy  to  the  regular  Clerk 
— Mr.  L.  W.  Guiteau — and  addressing  himself 
to  us,  said : 

"  Mr.  N.,  are  you  busy  ?  " 

"  Not  very,"  we  replied. . 

"  If  you  can  spare  the  time  I  would  be  glad 
of  an  interview  with  you  at  my  office.'- 

Laying  aside  the  pen  we  went  with  him,  and 
after  being  seated  together  in  his  private  room^ 
adjoining  the  main  office,  he  remarked: 


IO  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS. 

"Mr.  N.,  I  understand  you  are  thinking  of 
going  to  Texas." 

"  I  am  not  only  thinking  of  it,  Mr.  S.,  but  the 
purpose  is  already  fixed  to  go." 

"  I  regret  to  hear  it,"  he  said. 

"Why  so,  Mr.  S.?" 

For  a  few  moments  he  was  silent,  his  eye 
scanning  the  figures  of  the  beautiful  carpet 
upon  the  floor;  then  calmly  raising  his  face  and 
fixing  his  full  eyes,  that  looked  nigh  unto  burst- 
ing, upon  us — such  was  their  intense  earnest- 
ness, indicating  the  struggle  of  soul  within,  the 
play  of  emotions,  honest  and  transparent ;  and 
holding  the  gaze  upon  us,  while  as  yet  no  word 
from  his  eloquent  lips  had  broken  or  changed 
the  potent  spell  thereof — suddenly  those  eyes  suf- 
fused with  tears  incontinent,  the  requisite  power 
of  speech  had  come,  and  he  replied  fervently : 

"  You  ask  why  I  regret  to  hear  it ;  I  will  tell 
you  why.  We  are  friends,  and  have  been  friends 
for  many  a  long  year,  and  that,  too,  on  terms  of 
more  than  ordinary  meaning,  and  sacred  beyond 
the  degrees  of  worldly  friendship.  The  tie  that 
hath  bound  us,  you  know,  has  been  that  of  a 
deep  and  ardent  Christian  faith,  which,  though 
seeming  to  part  asunder  at  times  under  the 
severe  strain  of  mutual  fault  and  criticism,  pro- 
ducing the  while  outward  non-affiliation,  yet 


HON.   MARTIN   P.   SWEET.  II 

the  substratum  of  unity  is  there,  and  its  broth- 
erly elasticity  is  too  great  to  be  snapped  in  twain. 
And  however  far  apart  the  forces  of  the  worlc 
may  swing  us,  on  the  pendulum  of  time,  still 
the  return  movement  is  certain  and  sure." 

Thus  spake  a  friend.  And  then,  laying  his 
hand  upon  his  heart,  he  proceeded  to  say : 

"  Mr.  N.,  I  have  loved  you  " — and  pressing 
his  heart  said — "  I  have  loved  you  here.  It  was 
years  agone  we  learned  to  love  each  other  as 
brother-friends,  in  earnest  truth.  You  are  still 
in  my  heart,  and  I  believe  I  am  in  yours. 
You  know  my  motto — '  once  in  grace,  always  in 
grace' — once  in  friendship,  always  in  friendship — 
once  in  love,  always  in  love.  We  would  not 
change  it  if  we  could,  and  could  not  if  we  would. 
I  have  never  turned  you  out  of  my  heart,  never 
can,  and  never  shall.  My  heart  knows  and  bows 
to  no  destroying  vicissitudes.  Our  friendship 
has  no  mere  worldly  cast,  breathing  the  common 
atmosphere  of  self-interest,  and  putting  on  the 
offensive  airs  of  self-righteousness ;  nay,  it  en- 
dures while  witnessing  the  death-struggles  of 
all  such  moral  and  social  littleness  in  ourselves 
and  in  others. 

"And  now,"  continued  he,  "from  these  con- 
siderations, permit  me  to  state  further  why  I 
regret  your  contemplated  move.  My  regard  for 


12  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

the  personal  welfare  of  yourself  and  yours  is 
too  warm  and  deep,  not  to  regret  seeing  you  float 
to  the  Southern  extreme  of  American  society 
at  the  present  juncture  of  our  National  affairs. 

"The  loud  blast  of  secession  is  already  heard 
in  the  South,  and  I  am  impressed  that  the  South- 
ern sisterhood  of  States  will  unite  in  a  desperate 
effort  to  dissolve  this  Union  and  destroy  the 
General  Government.  And  that  no  renewal  of 
compromise  effort  can  save  the  tremendous 
shock  of  war,  between  the  North  and  South, 
that  portends  in  the  political  heavens.  And  I 
now  feel  bound  to  say  to  you,  though  in  confi- 
dence, what  for  wise  political  reasons  I  have  not 
dared  to  utter  to  any  political  friend,  that  I 
more  than  fear — /  believe — this  Government  is 
going  to  ruin !  Presaging  wrath  is  borne  on 
every  breeze,  and  tells  of  the  coming  woe ! 

"  To  me,  this  is  no  chimera  of  an  overwrought 
imagination,  but  the  serious,  sober  tone  of  des- 
tiny that  comes  thundering  along  the  pathway 
of  nations,  and  having  shattered  many  nations, 
and  buried  them  in  the  dust  of  the  sepulchral 
past,  no  better  fate  may  await  ours.  God  save 
us !  if  that  be  possible ;  but  it  seems  otherwise 
to  me. 

"And,  friend  N.,  if  the  half  of  my  forebodings 
shall  prove  historic  verity  not  far  in  the  future, 


HON.    MARTIN   P.    SWEET.  13 

which  side  the  division  line  do  you  wish  to  be 
found?  To  ask  the  question,  I  know  is  to  an- 
swer it.  You  and  I  both  hail  from  adjoining 
counties  in  the  old  Empire  State  as  our  father- 
land, and  are  now  citizens  of  the  Empire  State 
of  the  great  Northwest.  The  one  gave  us  birth, 
and  nursed  us  to  the  years  of  early  manhood. 
The  other  is  our  adopted  State,  where  we  have 
reached  the  strength  and  vigor  of  intellectual 
manhood.  There  we  knew  and  enjoyed  the 
blessings  of  freedom — freedom  of  opinion  and 
of  speech.  Here  the  same,  and  not  one  degree 
north  or  south  of  the  same  latitude." 

Here  our  brilliant  friend  drew  a  picture  of 
suffering,  in  prospect  for  ourseff  and  family,  so 
vivid  as  to  rival  St.  Paul's  descriptive  list  of 
his  own  sufferings,  by  land  and  by  sea,  among 
false  brethren,  among  Greeks  and  barbarians,  in 
bonds  and  imprisonment,  which  awaited  him  in 
his  journeyings  from  city  to  city. 

In  that  description  the  writer  saw  himself 
served  with  a  notice  from  the  "  Ticket  of  Leave 
Man,"  to  quit  the  country  in  a  given  number  of 
days,  or  hours,  and  in  default  thereof  to  abide 
the  consequences — such  as  a  free  passage  at  sea, 
bound  to  a  plank,  or  headed  up  in  a  barrel,  com- 
panion and  food  for  friendly  sharks,  or  other 
monsters  of  the  dark  blue  deep ;  or  left,  by  the 


14  FIVE   YEARS    IN   TEXAS. 

mob  infuriate,  "  Looking  up  a  black  jack,"  as 
the  chilling  parlance  of  the  country  expresses  it. 
And  he  saw  the  secret  assassins  in  the  forest 
nightshade,  or  in  some  dark  and  unfrequented 
nook,  plotting  against  his  life — saw  the  dagger 
gleaming  in  the  dark,  heard  the  death-dealing 
cartridge  chambered  in  the  revolver  or  derringer, 
the  trial  click  of  the  hammer,  and  the  adjust- 
ment of  the  cap.  And  then  saw  them  emerge 
from  their  dark  hiding  place,  and  take  position 
near  the  pathway  of  the  unsuspecting  passer-by, 
to  shoot  or  strike  him  down,  just  when  he  thinks 
no  danger  nigh.  But  failing  here,  because  their 
victim  reaches  home  by  a  course  not  in  their 
plans,  he  saw  the  human  bloodhounds  lurking 
and  skulking  about  his  house,  at  the  midnight 
hour,  seeking  quiet  entrance  to  his  chamber  of 
rest.  They  enter,  and  there  find  the  doomed 
one  at  rest  with  the  loved  ones,  in  the  uncon- 
scious bliss  of  sleep,  while  the  moonlight  shim- 
mers from  the  light  breeze-waving  trees,  through 
the  open  lattice,  in  fantastic  shapes  of  light  and 
shade,  upon  the  chamber  wall,  just  o'er  their 
pillowed  heads,  so  soft  and  so  silvery.  The 
steel  is  in  the  assassin's  uplifted  hand.  Wit- 
nessing angels  are  moved  at  the  fearful  sight, 
and  cry  out — "Stay  thy  hand!  and  hurt  not  the 
man  ! "  but  lo,  'tis  not  the  hand  of  an  Abraham 


HON.   MARTIN   P.   SWEET.  1 5 

that  holds  the  deadly  knife  on  high,  but  of  the 
cruel  assassin,  whose  soul  communes  not  with 
angels  of  good,  but  is  in  league  with  angels  of 
evil,  who  in  cooler  mood  might  relent  the  fiend- 
ish order  to  strike — if  that  were  possible  with 
evil  demons — -but  being  now  at  the  mighty  on- 
rush, like  lightning  the  fatal  blow  descends;  the 
warm  blood  flows,  a  life  ebbs  away,  and  the 
cowardly  wretches  retreat  under  cover  of  night, 
followed  by  the  wails  of  the  widowed  wife  and 
her  helpless  children,  bereft  in  a  moment  of 
husband  and  father ! 

Thus  did  Mr.  S.  picture  things  on  the  Southern 
sky,  in  vividness  of  eloquent  speech,  which  the 
writer  rarely  ever  heard  equaled — not  more  than 
half  a  dozen  times  in  his  life,  at  most.  His  soul 
caught  the  true  image,  and  his  language  made 
it  seem  to  one  present  and  real. 

As  compared  with  other  men  he  excelled  in 
most  of  the  qualities  that  constitute  a  success- 
ful public  speaker,  or  private  conversationalist. 
But  comparing  him  with  himself,  it  is  difficult 
to  determine  in  which  he  was  the  more  excel- 
lent. His  nature  was  spontaneous  to  an  exceed- 
ing degree  in  every  capacity  and  relation  of 
life.  The  absorbing  and  evolving  power  of  his 
intuitions  was  so  remarkable  that  a  book,  heavy 
or  light  in  tone  of  thought,  was  mastered  by 


1 6  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

him  as  a  mere  breakfast  spell.  Memory  was 
ever  a  faithful  sentinel  at  his  mental  door,  and 
every  fresh  thought  passing  its  threshold  was 
imprisoned  there  for  life.  In  the  more  rigid 
sense  of  the  schools  he  was  never,  perhaps,  a 
systematic  student;  which  might  be  urged  by 
some  as  a  fault,  and  the  conclusion  is  logical  on  '• 
general  principles.  But  he  was  a  student,  nev- 
ertheless, after  nature's  own  style.  He  was 
nature's  own  genius,  and  could  not  be  confined 
to  the  plots  and  plans  of  books — not  even  the 
books  of  the  law.  His  soul  was  too  thirsty  to 
be  slaked  with  legal  waters.  It  looked  up  to 
the  mountains  for  irrigation  from  the  gospel 
waters  of  the  Spirit.  Once  on  a  time  a  young 
chip  of  the  law  challenged  him  on  his  inatten- 
tion to  the  books,  to  whom  he  replied :  "  There 
are  two  classes  of  lawyers :  those  who  make  the 
books,  or  furnish  the  material  for  them,  and  are 
lawyers  without  them,  and  those  who  study  the 
books  to  be  lawyers  at  all." 

As  a  jury  advocate,  as  a  platform  speaker,  as 
a  popular  orator  on  political  and  other  occasions, 
it  is  conceded  by  those  who  knew  him  best,  pro- 
fessionally and  otherwise,  that  he  never  had  his 
superior,  and  few  if  any  equals  in  the  whole 
Northwest.  Nature  had  endowed  him  with  a 
voice  of  surpassing  compass  and  richness  for 


HON.   MARTIN   P.   SWEET.  \J 

oratorical  purposes,  and  had  breathed  into  his 
great  soul  a  spontaneity  of  warm  impulse  and 
thought,  to  back  and  animate  it,  so  that,  whether 
he  spoke  in  tenor  or  baritone,  or  deep  basso, 
one  always  heard  a  soul-voice  from  the  speaker. 
His  whole  character,  from  top  to  bottom,  was 
stratified  with  moral  simplicity  and  a  broad  cath- 
olicity of  temperament,  which,  under  the  guid- 
ance of  his  comprehensive  intellect,  brought 
him  into  rapport  with  truth  wherever  found. 
He  thought,  and  felt,  and  spoke,  in  veins  of  en- 
thusiasm, and  hence  was  rather  impatient  of 
conservative  restraint.  He  always  entered  his 
appearance  against  injustice  and  wrong,  in  radi- 
cal pioneer  style,  with  a  directness  of  purpose 
that  would  see  the  beginning  of  the  end  at  once. 
He  never  impressed  one  with  the  idea,  in  his 
public  efforts  before  courts,  or  juries,  or  popular 
audiences,  that  he  sought  to  produce  sensational 
effects ;  nay,  he  was  always  too  full  of  his  sub- 
ject for  that — so  full  that  some,  in  envy,  or  jeal- 
ousy, or  ignorance,  might  write  him  down  a 
wild  enthusiast,  and  at  times  a  fanatic,  because 
he  believed  the  lions  in  the  way,  where  most 
men  feared  to  travel,  could  be  slain  and  put 
aside;  but  we  shall  not  so  write  him,  for  we 
know  him  better,  and  have  a  better  chart  of  his 
character.  From  long  personal  intimacy  with 
2 


1 8  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

him  we  understand  with  what  generous  prod- 
igality nature  lavished  upon  him  powers  sui 
generis,  and  beyond  those  of  most  men,  and 
above  appreciation  by  the  green-eyed  few.  If 
he  were  not  perfect,  as  the  religious  legalist 
counts  perfection,  and  had  any  marked  faults, 
as  all  great  men  are  said  to  have,  the  intelligent 
reader  will  not  fail  to  appreciate  the  point  when 
we  say  that  peculiar  faults,  either  secret  or  overt, 
seem  quite  inseparable  from  the  characters  of 
geniuses ;  and  more,  these  very  faults  serve  as 
foils  of  contrast  to  set  ofF  to  greater  advantage 
and  glory  their  superior  excellences,  while 
teaching  us  not  to  fall  down  and  worship  them 
as  gods,  for  they  are  but  men  in  common  with 
other  men. 

Mr.  S.  stood  aloof  the  major  portion  of  his 
life  from  the  technical  distinctions  and  peculiar 
customs  of  the  religious  sects,  and  the  more 
strenuous  and  imposing  they  were  the  less  real 
fellowship  from  him.  He  thought  he  saw  in  the 
tone  of  creeds,  old  or  new,  as  managed  by  hu- 
man fallibility,  the  old  "Yoke  of  bondage" — 
the  imposition  of  tyranny — the  reproduction  of 
the  old  spirit  of  Judaism,  in  a  display  of  "the 
commandments  of  men."  And  yet,  in  default 
of  the  grander  development  of  the  coming  king- 
dom— the  one  organic  headship  of  Christ,  and 


HON.    MARTIN   P.   SWEET.  19 

the  one  all-pervading,  and  all-comprehending 
unity,  under  that  headship — he  recognized  the 
preliminary  usefulness  of  the  sects,  in  keeping 
mankind  beating  the  bush  for  religious  truth, 
and  making  endeavors  toward  pure  living. 
Hence  his  motto  was :  "  The  seed  of  the  true 
church  is  scattered  among  all  the  sects,  and  will 
be  gathered  into  one  in  the  fullness  of  time." 

From  this  standpoint  he  could  never  regard 
the  distinctive  features  or  claims  of  any  existing 
sect  as  paramount  to  those  of  another,  or  as 
promising  to  transcend  all  others,  absorbing  them 
into  a  visible,  vital  oneness,  in  the  final  outcome 
of  the  conflict  between  modern  sects.  But  be- 
lieving, as  a  matter  of  the  deepest  faith  with 
him,  and  the  most  unquestionably  certain  teach- 
ing of  Christ,  and  what  appeared  to  most  people 
Utopian,  that  the  true  church  on  earth  was  in- 
tended by  its  divine  Founder  to  be  like  its  coun- 
terpart in  heaven — a  vital,  visible,  organic  unity 
— he  could  not,  at  any  time  in  his  life,  long 
yield  himself  to  sectarian  embraces.  Here  is 
the  true  explanation  of  the  ins  and  outs  that  he 
practiced  in  this  direction.  When  he  went  in  he 
was  esteemed  just  converted.  When  he  went  <?///, 
backslidden  and  lost — so  reckoned  the  sectarian 
treadmill  brother  in  his  case,  who  failed  to  pen- 


2O  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

etrate  below  the  surface  of  his  character,  and  did 
not  see  him  as  he  was,  and  where  he  was. 

The  truth  is,  the  writer  never  knew  a  man  in 
whose  subjective  life  the  religious  element  was 
more  potential.  It  was  a  profound  inspiration, 
and  the  mainspring  of  his  whole  life-movements. 
And  even  when  some  of  those  movements  be- 
came, irregular  and  tangled  from  fractures  or 
weakness  in  subordinate  machinery,  the  main- 
spring was  there,  performing  its  functions,  and 
kept  him  in  motion.  In  every  speech  he  ever 
made,  at  the  bar,  on  the  stump,  or  elsewhere, 
this  inspiration  was  in  his  soul,  came  up  to  his 
lips,  and  gave  them  their  greatest  power. 

The  most  elegant  and  moving  strains  of  elo- 
quence he  ever  uttered  came  from  this  well- 
spring  of  the  divine  within  him.  It  breathed  in 
every  breath,  it  toned  every  word,  it  warmed 
every  impulse,  it  was  the  muse  of  every  senti- 
ment, it  was  the  "fourfold  chord"  of  his  friend- 
ship ;  it  was  the  tidal  wave  of  his  soul,  hurling 
the  shore  rocks  of  biting  sarcasm  and  scathing 
invective  against  evil  and  wrong.  At  such  times 
his  very  lips  seemed  formed  by  nature  for  this 
kind  of  work,  and  woe  betide  the  luckless  man 
against  whom  he  employed  them.  This  divine 
passion  gave  him  "  cloven  tongues  of  fire/'  and 
made  him  on  occasion  a  pentecost  of  eloquence. 


HON.   MARTIN   P.   SWEET.  21 

Congress  was  the  ambition  and  disappointed 
hope  of  his  life.  So  with  Webster,  Clay,  and 
Calhoun,  in  regard  to  the  Presidency  of  the 
United  States.  They  were  said  to  be  too  great 
for  the  position,  which,  of  course,  was  intended 
as  a  high  political  compliment,  meritoriously 
given  to  offset  their  disappointment.  The  com- 
pliment belongs-  with  equal  propriety  to  the  sub- 
ject of  our  sketch  in  his  life-long  aspirations  for 
Congressional  honors. 

With  his  peculiar  talents  he  doubtless  would 
have  shone  more  in  the  popular  branch  of  the 
National  Legislature  than  in  the  Senate.  He 
was,  by  nature  and  education,  the  people's  rep- 
resentative. But  as  a  politician,  in  his  own 
interest  and  for  his  own  ends,  he  was  a  failure. 
There  were  plenty  of  men,  with  half  his  talent, 
that  could  and  did  beat  him  to  death  at  the  wheel 
of  political  fortune.  Yet  he  was  a  king  among 
his  peers,  though  never  crowned,  but  a  king 
"  for  a'  that." 

He  was  the  Whig  candidate  for  Congress  in 
1844;  and  to  show  his  popularity,  though  a 
Whig,  and  his  party,  on  a  strict  party  vote,  in 
the  minority  by  several  hundred  votes  in  the 
Congressional  District,  yet  he  swept  it,  and  en- 
tered Nauvoo  with  a  majority  of  between  four 
and  five  hundred  votes.  But  there  the  vote  was 


22  FIVE   YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

solid  against  him.  Joe  Smith  had  a  revelation 
the  day  before  that  the  Mormons  must  vote  for 
the  Democratic  candidate.  And  so  he  was  beaten 
by  the  Mormons,  who  belonged  to  no  party,  but 
were  up  for  bargain  and  for  sale.  Mr.  S.  would 
not  soil  his  honor  by  making  a  bid  for  their  vote. 

He  was  candidate  again,  in  1850,  against  the 
Hon.  Thompson  Campbell.  Again  he  carried  the 
district,  entering  Jo  Daviess,  his  competitor's  own 
county,  with  a  majority  of  between  three  and  four 
hundred  votes.  But  the  local  feeling  there  for 
the  home  candidate  overcame  the  majority,  and 
defeated  him  again.  When  it  is  remembered 
what  partisan  odds  he  had  to  overcome  in  these 
two  contests,  amounting  to  a  diversion  of  a 
thousand  or  more  Democratic  votes,  and  would 
have  been  triumphantly  elected  in  the  one  case 
but  for  the  treachery  of  the  Mormons,  and  in 
the  next  but  for  the  local  feeling  in  his  compet- 
itor's home  county,  preferring  a  home  candidate, 
with  the  wholesale  bid  of  Campbell  for  the  abo- 
lition vote  in  certain  localities,  touching  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia; 
we  say,  taking  these  things  into  the  account, 
they  exhibit  the  immense  power  and  popularity 
of  Mr.  S. 

Was  he  too  honest  for  a  politician?  Aye, 
that  was  it.  He  reposed  too  much  confidence 


HON.   MARTIN   P.   SWEET.  23 

in  the  professions  of  political  friends.  They 
took  advantage  of  confidences  ingenuously  im- 
parted, and  slew  him  at  the  gate  of  triumphal 
entry.  And  some  did  it  who  had  eaten  bread 
from  his  professional  hands.  Such  is  life  in  this 
world  of  strife.  Once  when  the  election  returns 
revealed  their  perfidious  betrayal  of  him  he 
cried  out  with  a  voice  that  could  be  heard  from 
far:  "Three  cheers  for  Judas  Iscariot!  hurrah! 
hurrah!!  hurrah!!!" 

He  was  a  life-long  Whig  and  Republican,  and 
did  much  heavy  work  for  his  party,  but  official 
recompense  never  came — a  marked  example  of 
the  proverbial  ingratitude  of  political  parties. 
Others  entered  into  his  labors  and  took  his  re- 
ward. 

After  months  of  severe  suffering  with  malig- 
nant erysipelas,  he  paid  the  debt  that  all  must 
pay,  which  balanced  the  books  for  this  world, 
except  that  the  balance  sheet,  if  left  unstruck  by 
the  hand  and  seal  of  the  death-king,  would  show 
him  a  heavy  creditor  of  his  country.  He  died 
during  the  December  term  of  the  Stephenson 
County  Circuit  Court,  A.  D.  1864,  his  Honor, 
Benj.  R.  Sheldon,  presiding. 

The  Hon.  Thos.  J.  Turner,  a  cotemporary  of 
the  deceased  at  the  bar,  arose  in  Court  and  said : 

"  It  is  difficult  for  me  to  find  words  to  express 


24  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

what  we  all  feel  on  this  solemn  occasion.  Hon. 
Martin  P.  Sweet  is  dead.  We  shall  not  again 
hear  from  his  lips  the  burning  eloquence  that  in 
times  past  has  thrilled  the  court  and  the  bar, 
as  he  held  up  to  view  the  enormities  of  crimes 
which  he  had  been  called  upon  to  prosecute; 
or  the  melting  pathos  with  which  he  captivated 
the  sympathies  of  jury  and  people,  while  defend- 
ing those  he  regarded  innocent.  Few  men  ever 
possessed  that  magnetic  power  which  chains  an 
audience  in  a  greater  degree  than  did  our  de- 
parted friend. 

"  It  is  not  alone  at  the  bar  that  he  has  left  his 
impress  as  a  leading  mind.  In  the  arena  of 
politics,  and  in  the  sacred  desk,  he  was  alike 
conspicuous.  Logical  in  argument,  terrible  in 
invective,  and  quick  in  repartee,  he  carried  the 
judgments  of  the  jury  or  an  audience.  Or  fail- 
ing here  his  quick  sympathies  and  deep  pathos 
led  them  along  against  the  convictions  of  judg- 
ment. Such  was  Martin  P.  Sweet  as  an  orator 
and  advocate.  A  self-made  man,  he  surmounted 
difficulties  which  would  discourage  and  defeat 
others,  and  reached  a  position  at  the  bar  second 
to  none,  and  established  a  reputation  as  an  ora- 
tor of  which  any  man  among  us  might  well  feel 
proud. 

"But  it  is  not  as  a  public  or  professional  man 


HON.   MARTIN  P.   SWEET.  2  5 

alone  that  we  mourn  him  to-day.  Mr.  Sweet 
immigrated  to  Winnebago  County,  in  this  State, 
in  the  year  1838,  where,  with  his  own  hands 
and  the  help  of  his  wife,  he  erected  a  comforta- 
ble log-house,  and  there  entered  upon  that 
chimerical  course  of  life  which,  at  some  time  or 
other,  in  the  life  of  almost  every  lawyer  has 
held  out  the  promise  of  ease,  self-culture  and 
intellectual  enjoyment — the  life  of  a  farmer.  But 
he  soon  found  that  the  fields  would  not  yield  a 
harvest  without  incessant  toil,  and  that  calves 
and  pigs  did  not  spring  indigenous  from  the 
soil.  And  in  1840  he  left  his  farm  and  removed 
to  Freeport,  where  he  remained,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  two  or  three  years  he  was  in  the  minis- 
try, until  his  death. 

"On  opening  an  office  in  Freeport  he  soon 
.secured  a  remunerative  practice,  and  took  a  first 
rank  at  the  bar  throughout  the  circuit.  His 
services  were  sought  after  wherever  important 
cases  were  to  be  tried,  or  legal  ability  was  re- 
quired. Among  the  traits  of  character  that 
endeared  Mr.  Sweet  to  the  members  of  the  pro- 
fession were  his  urbane  manners,  his  nice  sense 
of  professional  honor,  and  his  kind  and  cour- 
teous bearing  toward  those  who  were  opposed 
to  him.  In  these  respects  he  has  done  much  to 
elevate  the  standard  of  professional  ethics. 


26  ^      FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

"In  private  life  he  was  generous  and  urbane, 
and  had  many  friends,  with  few  if  any  enemies. 
In  his  death  the  bar  has  lost  one  of  its  brightest 
ornaments,  the  city  a  good  citizen  and  zealous 
friend,rand  the  County  and  State  an  able  defender 
of  their  rights.  For  all  these  we  mourn  him. 
There  is  still  another  circle  that  mourns  him 
with  a  deeper  grief — the  charmed  circle  of  home. 
The  sorrow  which  reigns  there  is  too  sacred  to 
be  spoken  of  in  this  place.  With  closed  eyes 
and  silent  lips,  all  that  was  mortal  of  our  friend 
sleeps  just  where  he  desired  his  last  sleep  should 
be,  beneath  the  green  sods  of  this  beautiful 
prairie  land,  which  in  life  he  loved  so  well ;  while 
his  spirit,  we  trust,  has  entered  upon  higher  and 
holier  joys,  and  more  sublime  pursuits  than  this 
earth  affords. 

"  Let  us,  my  brethren  of  the  bar,  while  our 
eyes  are  suffused  with  tears,  and  our  hearts 
bowed  with  sorrow  over  his  grave,  resolve  to 
emulate  his  virtues,  to  follow  his  example,  and 
avoid  and  forget  his  faults — if  he  had  any — so 
that  when  our  work  on  earth  is  done,  and  when 
Our  names  may  be  mentioned,  as  the  name  of  our 
departed  friend  is  mentioned  to-day,  with  bated 
breath  and  choked  utterance,  it  may  be  said  of 
us :  ( Our  work  is  finished,  it  is  well  done.'  " 

In  response  to  Mr.  Turner's  eulogy  the  Judge 


HON.    MARTIN   P.    SWEET.  2/ 

said,  in  substance,  that  "  during  the  sixteen  years 
he  had  been  on  the  circuit  bench  he  had  known 
Mr.  Sweet  as  a  member  of  the  bar,  and  as  an 
effective  speaker  and  legal  orator  he  had  no 
superior,  and  at  times  he  was  the  leading  genius, 
outstripping  all  others  in  his  judicial  circuit. 
That  it  was  probable  we  should^  never  look  upon 
Or  hear  his  like  again.  The  thrilling  tones  of 
that  voice,  so  powerful,  so  charming  and  so  elo- 
quent, have  died  away  forever  to  the  natural 
ear,  but  still  we  hear  the  echoes  in  the  chambers 
of  the  soul.  And  hereafter,  when  we  think  of 
Mr.  Sweet,  it  will  be  in  connection  with  some 
great  effort  we  have  heard  him  make  in  by-gone 
years,  and  the  sensations  we  felt  then  will  again 
rush  over  the  soul.  Thus  will  he  speak  back  to 
us  from  the  world  of  the  departed.  And  to- 
day, while  sitting  here  on  this  accustomed 
bench,  I  seem  to  hear  his  utterances  over  again, 
as  we  all  do,  but  they  are  more  solemn  and  im- 
pressive because  now  they  have  the  momentum 
of  eternity  added  to  that  of  time.  May  we  em- 
ulate his  virtues  and  be  prepared  when  our 
change  comes." 

During  the  delivery  of  the  eulogy  the  Judge 
appeared  more  deeply  moved  than  he  had  ever 
been  known  to  be  before,  on  any  occasion,  and 
the  members  of  the  bar  fully  sympathized.  It 


28  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

was  a  rare  occasion  for  the  play  of  solemn  emo- 
tions, and  for  a  grand  uprising  of  the  soul  to- 
ward God. 

We  offer  no  apology  to  the  reader  for  prefac- 
ing our  book  with  the  foregoing  eulogistic  sketch 
of  our  departed  friend,  and  it  is  presumed  none 
is  necessary.  We  are  certain  of  it  with  the 
friends  of  Mr.  Sweet,  who  knew  him  best.  And 
if  he  had  enemies  that  last  till  now,  political  or 
otherwise,  to  such  we  make  our  bow  in  passing, 
and  say,  rcquiescat  in  pace  ! 

This  outline  sketch,  containing  something  of 
an  analysis  of  the  character  and  gifts  of  Mr.  S., 
though  too  brief  to  be  called  a  biography,  is 
extended  beyond  the  limits  of  our  original  pur- 
pose, but  while  justified  in  our  own  feelings  and 
desires  in  the  matter,  we  doubt  not  the  glad 
approval  of  the  reader  will  be  given  also;  and 
particularly  of  the  profession  to  which  he  be- 
longed, and  in  which  he  was  a  star  of  the  first 
magnitude.  But  aside  from  a  desire  to  render 
this  tribute  of  respect  to  the  fragrant  memory 
of  departed  worth  and  genius,  the  writer,  with 
modest  pretension,  would  wrest  his  name  from 
further  silence  of  the  pen  and  press,  and  rob 
oblivion  of  a  name  too  bright,  and  too  dear  to 
friends  and  relatives  to  be  lost  from  the  public 
eye  and  ear. 


HON.   MARTIN  P.   SWEET.  29 

Now  the  reader  may  well  conclude  that  the 
eloquent  pleadings  of  such  a  friend  were  quite 
sufficient  to  deter  one  in  the  unpropitious  situa- 
tion of  our  country,  during  the  winter  of  1860-1, 
from  making  the  rash  move — "  Out  of  the  world 
into  Texas."  The  writer  can  never  forget  that 
earnest  private  interview,  in  the  little  side  office, 
when  Mr.  S.  employed  his  powers  of  logic  and 
description  to  maintain  the  assertion  that  the 
"irrepressible  conflict"  was  about  to  reach  the 
shocking  crisis  of  civil  war  between  the  North 
and  South.  A  decade  of  years  has  since  passed, 
bearing  him  away,  but  his  predictions  have  be- 
come historic  verity.  The  conflict  culminated 
in  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  human  rage,  in  which  the 
two  greatest  evils  of  all  time  met  and  struggled 
for  the  mastery — war  and  slavery.  And  because 
war  was  the  greater  slavery  was  wiped  out  in  a 
baptism  of  blood!  And  in  that  baptism  the 
grim-visaged  evil  plucked  and  sacrificed  five  or 
six  hundred  thousand  home  lilies  from  the 
"Sunny  South"  and  from  the  mountains  and 
valleys  of  the  North ! 


3O  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 


CHAPTER    II. 

THE   TRIP   TO    GALVESTON. 

|N  the  1 2th  day  of  January,  1861,  we  left 
Freeport,  Illinois,  with  our  family,  for  Gal- 
veston,  Texas;  making  that  port  on  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  the  23d  of  the  same  month, 
eleven  days  on  the  passage.  Galveston  lies  in 
north  latitude,  twenty-nine  degrees,  while  Free- 
port  is  nearly  forty-three  degrees  north,  making 
about  fourteen  degrees  difference,  or  one  thou- 
sand miles.  The  distance  traveled  by  us  was 
about  eighteen  hundred  miles.  Just  before 
leaving  Freeport  the  thermometer  had  registered 
thirty  degrees  below  zero.  In  Galveston  it  was 
as  much  above  zero.  A  stiff  norther'  was  blow- 
ing the  day  we  landed,  and  while  it  was  pleasant 
to  us,  just  from  a  high  northern  clime,  we 
observed  that  the  Galvestonians,  as  they  were 
passing  on  the  streets,  had  overcoats  on,  and 
were  muffled  to  the  ears,  hurrying  to  their  busi- 
ness places  and  homes  with  the  same  shivering 
rapidity  that  would  characterize  people  in  a  cli- 


THE  TRIP  TO   GALVESTON.  3! 

mate  where  the  cold  ranged  twenty  to  thirty 
degrees  below  zero,  and  a  stiff  wester'  or  nor'- 
wester'  were  beating  cold  music  out  of  the  icy 
keys  of  the  weather. 

We  took  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  to 
Cairo,  thence  the  fine  steamer  "Champion," 
Captain  Moore.  She  was  afterward  transferred 
to  the  war  service  of  the  United  States.  We 
landed  at  New  Orleans  on  the  2ist  of  the  month, 
which  was  the  day  before  the  vote  on  Secession 
was  to  be  taken  in  the  State  of  Louisiana. 
When  time  is  not  an  important  consideration 
with  the  traveler,  we  know  of  no  more  delight- 
ful voyage  than  by  a  first-class  steamboat  down 
the  "  Father  of  Waters  "  to  the  Crescent  City — 
a  palace  on  the  waters,  in  a  delicious  climate, 
through  a  magnificent  country  in  the  "Sunny 
South,"  sweeping  from  thirty-seven  to  thirty 
degrees  north  latitude,  but  ten  hundred  and  forty 
miles  by  the  meandering  river. 

But  the  times  lent  an  increased  and  some- 
what fearful  enchantment  to  the  novel  voy- 
age, in  January,  1861.  Standing  as  we  did,  for 
the  first  time  in  our  life,  on  the  Ohio  levee  at 
Cairo,  and  still  on  free  soil,  though  in  sight  of 
slave  territory,  just  across  the  river  in  old  Ken- 
tucky, where  the  great  Henry  Clay  lived,  and 
whence  radiated  his  greatness  over  the  world, 


32  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS. 

the  steamer  standing  at  her  wharf  with  a  capac- 
ity of  two  thousand  tons,  her  state-rooms  taken 
by  Southern-bound  travelers,  and  having  on 
board  eighteen  thousand  bushels  of  corn  from 
Egypt,  we  confess,  as  we  stood  there,  at  the 
hour  of  seven  in  the  morning,  ready  with  our 
company  to  take  passage,  and  be  borne  away 
from  all  our  free-soil  associations,  imagination 
stood  on  strained  wing  for  a  thousand  miles 
down  the  river,  essaying  to  divine  the  possible 
events  of  the  next  few  days,  and  of  that  novel 
trip. 

Already  before  committing  us  and  ours  to  the 
atmosphere  and  destiny  of  the  Southern  clime, 
did  the  darkness  of  the  future  pass  over  us  and 
compel  imagination  to  fold  her  wings.  And 
then  again,  faith  in  progress,  faith  in  Christian 
America,  faith  in  Providence,  struck  that  dark- 
ness from  the  sky,  and  bid  us  hope  for  peace. 
Up  to  that  time,  with  thousands  of  others,  we 
had  indulged  the  pleasing  and  prominent  thought 
that  Christian  civilization  had  progressed  too 
far  in  this  country  to  allow  the  people  to  plunge 
themselves  into  a  fratricidal  war.  But  events 
since  have  demonstrated  to  the  contrary;  and 
one  is  reminded  that  the  reasons  still  exist  that 
called  forth  the  utterance  from  the  Son  of  God : 


THE  TRIP  TO   GALVESTON.  33 

"Think  not  that  I  am  come  to  send  peace  on  earth : 
I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a  sword." 

The  steamer  left  the  wharf  at  Cairo,  steamed 
down  the  river  and  passed  Columbus,  Kentucky, 
and  the  islands  in  the  river.  They  had  no  spe- 
cial histories  then,  such  as  stirred  the  whole 
country  a  few  months  later,  not  even  Island 
Number  Ten,  where  commenced  the  first  rebel 
blockade  of  the  river.  Nothing  of  special  in- 
terest transpired  to  mar  the  general  pleasure  of 
the  voyage.  Sometimes  one  would  hear  the 
question  of  secession  quietly  mooted;  but  no 
excited  or  angry  discussion.  There  was  obvi- 
ously a  terrible  thinking  going  on  generally, 
with  all  on  board ;  but  the  passengers  seemed 
indisposed  to  become  much  acquainted.  They 
would  not  converse  unless  they  could  do  so  on 
the  subject  uppermost  in  their  thoughts.  And 
all  plainly  saw,  and  deeply  felt,  what  that  sub- 
ject was.  But  lips  were  sealed,  they  were  in  the 
bondage  of  the  country,  and  the  riveted  fetters 
of  silence  were  upon  alL 

We  remember  a  Southern  gentleman  came  on 
board  at  Memphis.  His  personal  appearance 
was  imposing,  his  presence  commanding,  and 
would  have  been  more  so  if  he  could  have  di- 
vested himself  of  that  peculiarly  haughty  air 
that  he  wore  as  a  sort  of  "  martial  cloak  wrapped 
3 


34  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS/ 

round  him."  He  probably  stood  six  feet  and 
two  to  four  inches  in  hight,  had  a  military  build, 
and  looked  as  though  he  was  born  to  command, 
at  least,  as  if  he  wanted  to  command,  and  thought 
he  was  born  for  that  purpose.  And  the  proba- 
bility is  that  he  enjoyed  the  misfortune  of  having 
been  born  on  a  plantation,  the  "  heir  apparent " 
to  five  or  six  hundred  negroes.  We  were 
sitting  near  his  dignity,  one  evening,  in  the 
gentlemen's  cabin,  others  were  sitting  around, 
conversation  was  at  low  tide,  when  we  made 
some  remark  about  secession,  at  which  his  maj- 
esty took  umbrage,  and  he  contradicted  us  with 
an  emphatic  "No  sir"  He  then  eyed  us  in  mo- 
mentary silence,  as  though  canvassing  the  ques- 
tion mentally,  whether  we  were  not  a  live  Yankee, 
and  spying  abolitionist,  from  the  land  toward 
the  "  north  star,"  coming  down  South  to  steal 
negroes,  or  incite  them  to  insurrection.  And 
though  he  did  not  give  us  the  benefit  in  words 
of  his  cogitations  on  the  subject,  we  thought 
words  were  needless  to  convey  to  the  mind  what 
he  thought  and  how  he  felt 

We  knew  nothing  then  of  the  existence  of 
the  organization  known  as  the  "  S.  S."  or  "  Sons 
of  the  South ; "  but  probably  it  was  then  in 
operation,  and  for  aught  we  know  our  name  and 
personal  description  went  down  on  the  books  of 


THE  TRIP  TO   GALVESTON.  35 

that  secret  organization.  We  were  probably 
spotted  about  that  time.  No  other  collision 
happened  between  the  Memphis  gentleman  and 
ourself,  as  we  avoided  further  contact  with  him, 
observing  that  he  was  so  agonized  with  self- 
importance  that  we  judged  he  would  be  happier 
without  intercourse  with  us  than  with  it ;  and, 
vice  versa,  we  felt  in  the  same  way  toward  him. 
The  nearest  approach  to  sociability  afterward 
between  us  was  by  a  mutual  exchange  of  leering 
glances  of  the  eye. 

If  the  Southern  man  hate  it  is  with  a  perfect 
hatred,  and  his  wrath  is  more  easily  provoked 
than  that  of  the  Northern  man.  He  speaks  not 
to  his  enemy  except  with  the  fiery  tongue  of 
his  revolver.  The  man  of  the  North  hates  with 
a  mental  reservation,  leaving  room  for  recon- 
ciliation ;  but  the  man  of  the  South  is  as  hos- 
pitable and  warm-hearted  to  a  friend  or  guest  as 
he  is  terrible  in  hate  of  an  enemy.  It  was  when 
we  met  his  Memphis  majesty  that  we  began  to 
appreciate  the  power  of  sectional  prejudices,  based 
on  sectional  differences — differences  in  institu- 
tions, customs,  habits,  climate  and  ways  of 
thinking. 

It  is  a  fact,  patent  to  the  intelligent  traveler, 
that  the  temper  of  a  people  partakes  largely  and 
inevitably  of  the  isothermal  character  of  the 


36  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS. 

climate  they  live  in.  This  is  seen  in  the  South- 
ern States ;  and  the  further  south  one  penetrates 
the  more  conspicuous  the  fact.  Like  the  cli- 
mate the  temper  of  the  people  is  hot,  fiery,  im- 
petuous, and,  on  occasions,  will  burst  out  in 
volcanic  eruption,  submerging  in  utter  ruin  what 
has  become  obnoxious  to  its  vengeful  wrath. 
In  the  Northern  States  the  temper  of  the  people 
is  like  the  climate,  temperate,  platonic,  philo- 
sophical ;  they  take  things  patiently,  steadily, 
perseveringly,  certainly,  and  herein  may  be 
seen — bating  other  modifying  conditions — the 
causal  reason  for  the  disparity  of  temper  between 
the  Northern  man  and  the  Southern.  One  is 
steady,  persevering  and  more  reliable ;  the  other 
unsteady,  more  easily  discouraged  and  less  relia- 
ble ;  can  not  brook  contradiction  or  opposition 
without  thoughts,  at  least,  of  his  six-shooter. 
Not  so  with  the  Northern  man,  he  would  prefer 
sitting  down  with  his  opponent  and  arguing  the 
difference  out  to  legitimate  conclusions  and  a 
good  understanding. 

Right  here  is  one  of  the  main  reasons  why 
the  South,  in  the  late  war,  was '  overwhelmed 
with  defeat  in  four  years.  The  commissarial 
department  of  army  supplies  lacked  energy,  in- 
tegrity, perseverance.  The  armies,  by  conse- 
quence, suffered  terribly  the  last  year  and  a  half 


THE  TRIP  TO   GALVESTON.  37 

of  the  war  from  desertion.  Scores  of  thousands 
of  men  took  leave  of  absence  during  that  time — 
we  will  not  stigmatize  them  deserters— went 
home  and  managed  to  keep  out  of  the  way  of 
the  ubiquitous  conscript  officer,  or,  by  collusion 
with  him,  secured  freedom  from  molestation  by 
him.  With  naked  feet  and  backs,  and  empty 
stomachs,  they  preferred  to  leave  the  field  of 
active  operations  and  let  fat  officers  "  fight  it  out 
on  that  line."  Thus  the  impetus  with  which  the 
South  inaugurated  the  war,  though  tremendous 
in  maddened  enthusiasm  at  first,  soon  became 
exhausted,  and  the  grand  on-rush  was  left  by 
the  suicidal  policy,  or  want  of  policy,  without 
resources,  and  in  four  years  died  out  and  suc- 
cumbed to  the  superior  powers  of  the  North. 

The  general  drift  of  past  history  goes  to  show 
that  North  men  have  generally  been  victors  in 
all  wars  with  South  men  where  the  mutual  con- 
ditions of  the  contending  parties  otherwise  were 
anything  like  equal.  The  northern  climes  are 
sturdy  and  masculine,  while  the  southern  are 
enervating  and  effeminate.  The  people  of  these 
respective  latitudes,  as  it  were  by  an  inevitable 
law  of  assimilation  in  nature,  are  conformed  to 
them  in  physical  and  mental  condition. 

Without  raising  a  question  of  the  possible  or 
impossible,  but  simply  of  the  probable  or  im- 


38  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

probable,  as  touching  the  adaptability  of  white 
labor  to  the  South — for  the  white  man  can  do 
anything  possible  to  be  done  by  human  agency' 
at  all,  and  if  challenged  will  do  it  for  the  sake 
of  experiment,  or  pride,  or  some  pet  theory,  if 
nothing  more — and  by  white  man  we  mean  the 
Anglo-Saxon,  headship  of  all  the  human  species 
in  physical  symmetry  and  intellectual  force — it 
will  be  sufficient  to  say  that,  "judging  the  future 
by  the  past,"  which  is  a  safe  general  rule,  mak- 
ing all  due  allowance  for  exceptional  cases,  it  is 
not  to  be  expected  the  Anglo-Saxon  race  will 
ever  perform  the  common  field  labor  of  the 
Southern  States  of  this  country,  the  Gulf  States 
In  particular.  An  appeal  to  their  history  in  past 
ages,  and  other  countries,  will  show  they  never 
have  done  it  in  such  extreme  latitudes.  The 
reasons  appear  to  be  those  of  constitution  and 
Providence,  and  are  inseparably  dual  in  form 
and  action.  The  constitutional  make-up  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  is  such,  so  fine  and  sensitive,  and 
so  elastic  withal,  as  displayed  in  his  more  native 
northern  climes  that  he  will  probably  ever  obey, 
in  the  main,  the  isothermal  conditions  of  nature 
and  climate,  which  affect  and  influence  his  ac- 
tivity, pro  and  con.,  and  in  and  to  which  he  was 
born.  The  temperate  zone  is  unquestionably 
his  .center  of  gravity,  and  toward  this  his 


THE   TRIP   TO    GALVESTON.  39 

specific  race  will  continue  in  the  future,  as  in 
the  past,  to  gravitate. 

If  we  go  round  the  globe,  neither  in  present 
nor  past  history  will  be  found  this  race  doing  the 
common  out-door  labor  in  any  countries  lying 
between  the  equator  and  thirty-five  degrees 
north  latitude ;  and  the  supposition  is  reasona- 
ble that  they  never  will  in  the  ages  to  come; 
unless  in  course  of  time  a  radical  climatic  trans- 
formation should  take  place,  driving  the  south 
pole  thirty  degrees  over  into  Asia,  and  bringing 
the  north  pole  down  thirty  degrees  nearer  the 
equator.  We  would  not  advise  movements  or 
investments  in  anticipation  of  such  an  event. 

The  reader  will  please  mark  that  we  do  not 
say  the  white  man  can  not  do  it,  but  simply  that 
he  has  not,  docs  not,  and  hence  probably  will 
not.  Not  that  the  maximum  heat  of  those  lati- 
tudes is  greater  or  more  oppressive  than  of  the 
more  northern  latitude,  or  as  much  so,  where 
grateful  winds  come  in  and  compensate,  but  the 
heated  term  instead  of  closing  at  the  end  of  one, 
two,  or  four  weeks,  at  the  most,  as  in  the  North, 
continues  four  to  six  months  in  the  South,  and 
brings  upon  the  human  system  at  last  an  ener- 
vation of  body  and  spirit  inevitable,  and  in  the 
end  almost  constitutional.  Northern  people 
would  freely  pronounce  and  denounce  it  as 


4O  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

sheer  laziness,  not  taking  account  of  the  climatic 
conditions  of  the  country.  Now  in  this  state 
of  the  case  it  is  an  open  question  if,  after  several 
generations  had  come  and  gone,  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  type  would  not  almost  disappear,  or  so 
far  change  as  to  fail  of  recognition.  The  Angli- 
can tongue  might  preserve  it  if  preserved  itself. 
The  more  dusky  races  of  mankind  are  the  abo- 
riginal inhabitants  of  those  countries  and  lati- 
tudes, and  they  constitute  the  normal  industrial 
agencies  thereof.  We  noticed  while  in  the  South 
that  the  proportion  of  old  people  among  the 
white  population  was  small  in  comparison  with 
their  proportional  numbers  in  the  North;  while 
with  the  blacks,  despite  the  hardships  of  their  en- 
slaved condition,  the  proportion  appeared  much 
larger,  thereby  showing  that  the  Anglo-Saxon's 
longevity  there  is  less  than  in  his  native  climate 
North.  The  violent  probability  is  that  correct 
tables  of  mortality,  if  they  could  bs  had,  would 
confirm  this  view  of  the  subject 


SOCIAL  TYPES.  4! 


CHAPTER   III. 

SOCIAL  TYPES. 

>T  is  probable  that  the  finest  social  types  in 
this  country  have  heretofore  been  found  in 
the  South.  That  this  is  true,  or  could  be 
under  the  dark  shadows  of  an  institution  so 
out  of  harmony  with  the  progressive  spirit  of 
the  age  certainly  seems  paradoxical.  The 
slaveholding  population,  it  is  claimed,  repre- 
sented more  social  refinement  and  elegance  of 
personal  manners  than  any  other  class  in  Amer- 
ica. Whatever  barbarous  proclivities  were 
chargeable  to  them  in  other  respects,  they  were 
not  so  chargeable  in  the  social  aspects  of  their 
characters.  And  this  was  one  of  the  slave- 
holder's vantage-grounds,  that  he  never  failed 
to  employ  on  occasion  of  entertaining  travelers 
and  visitors  from  other  portions  of  the  world, 
especially  from  the  Northern  States.  Perhaps 
there  was  nothing  the  Southern  gentleman 
prided  himself  more  upon  than  the  prestige  of 
his  social  power;  and  many  a  Northern  man  has 


42  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

lost  the  backbone  of  his  opposition  to  the  pecu- 
liar institution  under  its  seductive  influence.  A 
social  insult,  perhaps,  more  than  any  other, 
was  bitterly  resented  and  summarily  punished. 

To  attain  a  high  degree  of  social  culture  and 
refinement  is  not  unlike  learning  a  trade,  or  one 
of  the  fine  arts.  It  is  an  art,  if  not  the  art  of 
arts,  which  requires  study  and  practice;  as  much 
so  as  to  become  a  first-class  tradesman  or  artist 
of  any  kind.  One  has  to  pass  the  trying  ordeal 
of  social  gymnastics.  The  beauty  of  social 
elegance  is  like  the  "beauty  of  holiness."  It 
attracts  the  admiration  of  most,  excites  the  envy 
of  many,  the  jealousy  and  hate  of  the  mean, 
and  is  a  ruling  power  in  every  department  of 
Church  and  State,  and  of  society.  This  was  the 
strong  secret  agency  in  the  hands  of  the  South — 
the  " suaviter  in  modo"  fast  gave  them  leading 
sway  so  long  in  Congress,  and  with  the  Govern- 
ment. 

There  is  this  difference,  however,  in  the  com- 
parison between  the  "beauty  of  holiness"  and 
that  of  social  perfection — the  one  must  be  real, 
the  other  may  have  but  the  semblance  of  reality, 
being  so  much  of  an  art,  while  the  other  is  the 
very  essence  of  character.  In  order  to  great 
social  refinement  one  needs  ample  time  or  leis- 
ure to  cultivate  the  art.  And  who  in  America 


SOCIAL  TYPES.  43 

have  been  so  much  favored  in  the  past  with 
leisure  as  the  people  of  the  South? 

In  elegance  and  ease  of  personal  manners 
perhaps  no  man  in  America  excelled  Henry 
Clay.  His  very  style  of  taking  snuff,  and  hand- 
ling his  snuff-box,  is  said  to  have  been  so  ele- 
gant that,  though  inimitable,  yet  his  friends  and 
admirers,  in  and  out  of  Congress,  who  indulged 
the  nasal  habit  attempted  to  copy  him. 

The  late  Rt.  Rev.  General  Polk,  of  the  Con- 
federate Army,  and  Bishop  of 'the  Episcopal 
Church,  is  said  to  have  been  scarcely  equaled 
in  pleasant  manners.  He  made  it  a  specialty 
of  his  personal  improvement  until  he  had  be- 
come something  wonderful  in  social  power.  He 
it  was  that,  after  having  occupied  Columbus, 
Kentucky,  with  his  troops,  went  on  board  a 
Federal  gunboat  at  Island  Number  Ten,  by  in- 
vitation of  the  commander,  to  talk  over  some 
war  question,  and  during  the  interview  was  in- 
vited to  a  social  glass  of  wine.  The  Federal 
officer  led  off  in  a  toast:  "To  the  name  of 
George  Washington,  the  Father  of  his  Country." 
General  Polk  gracefully  acknowledged  the  com- 
pliment, and  then  holding  up  his  glass  said : 
"  George  Washington,  the  first  rebel."  Perhaps 
no  finer  retort  can  be  found  in  the  history  of 
the  late  war,  or  in  the  English  language,  as  to 


44  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS. 

that  matter;  so  elegant,  so  devoid  of  grossness, 
or  of  anything  that  could  give  possible  offense 
to  a  genteel  mind. 

We  beg  the  reader  not  to  take  the  impression 
of  supercilious  excess  in  the  polite  manners  of 
the  Southern  people,  or  of  anything  bordering 
on  affectation,  for  this  would  be  great  injustice 
to  them.  There  was  too  much  whole-souled 
magnanimity  and  hospitality  about  them  for 
that.  The  play  of  their  manners  was  free  from 
the  prescriptive  rules  and  ceremony  which  fre- 
quently produce  in  one's  breast  an  agony  of 
anxiety,  and  yet  it  was  courtly  and  dignified, 
without  obsequious  flattery  or  littleness. 


VOYAGE   DOWN  THE  RIVER.  4$ 


CHAPTER    IV. 

UT  to  return  to  our  voyage  down  the  river. 

On  nearing  Memphis  we  were  advised  by 
y  the  officers  of  the  boat  that  we  might  expect 

a  hailing  shot  from  the  batteries  just  above 
the  city.  And  sure  enough  it  came  right  across 
our  bows.  We  ran  in  shore,  and,  of,  course, 
were  startled  into  a  new  and  strange  feeling,  as 
yet  inexplicable,  because  so  un-American,  and 
contrary  to  the  hitherto  free  experience  of 
American  travelers  on  their  own  waters  or  their 
own  soil.  Was  it  for  amusement  or  a  farcical  bur- 
lesque on  the  governments  of  the  Old  World  ? 
Or  was  it  ominous  of  that  fearful  struggle  of  blood 
which  afterward  rent  the  country  for  four  long 
years  ?  Events  have  since  shown  that  "  Coming 
events  cast  their  shadows  before." 

After  a  few  hours'  detention  we  passed  on 
down  the  river;  but  as  we  reached  Vicksburg 
again  we  heard  the  booming  of  cannon  as  a 
signal  to  again  tie  up,  be  overhauled  and  show 
our  "  manifest."  After  that  we  were  graciously 


46  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

permitted  to  pass  all  points  without  further  mo- 
lestation ;  for  the  reason,  we  suppose,  that  hav- 
ing passed  the  upper  points  of  cannonized 
salutations,  and  thereby  cleansed  of  all  suspicion 
of  being  or  carrying  "  contraband  of  war,"  it  was 
unnecessary  to  waste  any  more  powder  on  us. 
So  we  reached  the  Crescent  City  in  peace  and 
safety ;  when,  for  the  first  time,  we  looked  upon 
its  six  miles  or  more  of  wharves,  literally  piled 
with  cotton  and  corn,  and  other  products  of  both 
North  and  South,  and  merchandise  from  Europe 
and  the  Atlantic  cities  by  the  ten  thousand 
packages,  and  there  were  scores  of  steamboats, 
flatboats,  and  other  crafts  discharging  their 
cargoes. 

In  the  free  play  of  imagination  one  was  re- 
minded of  the  account  of  the  ancient  provision 
of  the  Egyptian  monarch,  made  under  the  pro- 
phetic direction  and  supervising  genius  of  the 
virtuous  and  immaculate  Joseph,  against  the 
seven  years'  famine.  "  And  as  one  stood  there, 
on  the  hurricane-deck,  or  "texas,"  of  some  im- 
mense steamer,  and  looked  up  and  down,  over 
and  around  those  crescent-laid  wharves,  one 
was  moved  to  ask  in  wonder,  whence  and  for 
what  these  immense  and  almost  endless  stores 
of  sugar,  molasses,  flour,  pork,  corn,  potatoes, 
fruits,  etc.,  and  what  mean  these  dense  masses 


VISIT  TO  THE  "VARIETIES."  47 

of  earnest-looking  people,  hurrying  to  and  fro 
on  the  streets.  Ah!  it  is  the  2ist  day  of  Janu- 
ary, 1 86 1,  and  the  next  day  was  fraught  with 
the  momentous  and  grave  issues  of  an  election 
on  the  question  of  secession.  The  flags  of  all 
civilized  nations  were  floating  in  all  parts  of  the* 
city,  except  the  "Stars  and  Stripes;"  and  among 
them  was  most  conspicuously  displayed  the 
"  Rattlesnake"  flag  of  Louisiana;  and  one  could 
but  feel  it  was  a  fit  emblem  of  the  occasion,  and 
of  the  spirit  of  some  of  the  people.  One  gen- 
tleman told  us  that  though  he  had  been  a 
resident  of  the  city  for  many  years,  and  sympa- 
thized with  Southern  grievances,  yet  when  he 
saw  the  flag  of  the  Union  trailed  in  the  dust, 
and  put  out  of  sight,  and  the  Rattlesnake  of 
Louisiana  hung  up  in  its  place  on  the  Custom 
House,  he  cried  like  a  child,  and  somehow  felt 
as  though  the  world  was  being  buried  and  he 
was  attending  the  funeral. 

Demoralized  !  and  for  a  change, 
Unseen  by  friend  or  foe,  unknown 
Among  the  throng  where  all  were  strange, 
No  harm  to  us,  to  others  none. 
Thus  reas'ning  fancy  held  the  sway, 
As  did  the  de'l  in  Adam's  day : 
And  so  "  Varieties  "  that  night 
We  saw — and  "  Little  Dot "  so  bright. 
We  saw  "  The  Cricket  on  the  Hearth," 


48  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS. 

And  heard  it  sing  in  joyous  mirth, 
And  heard  it  till  it  sang  no  more, 
Because  the  fire  got  low,  and  low'r, 
In  "  John's  "  poor  heart,  and  on  the  floor, 
And  dying  embers  ashes  bore, 
And  cold  crept  in  through  cracks  and  door, 
And  cricket  hid  where  'twas  before. 
Then  tyrant  conscience  smote  the  charm ! 
But  sense  replied :  Why  where's  the  harm  ? 
'Tis  better  thus  to  spend  our  time 
Than  to  be  caught  in  bigger  crime. 
Another  blow  !  the  festive  craft 
Of  sense  careen'd,  and  shipp'd  a  draught 
Of  drowning  waters  o'er  the  deck, 
But  mercy  came  and  sav'd  the  wreck. 
The  conscience  only  knows  the  law ; 
And  lashes  with  it  rough  and  raw, 
While  sense  plays  with  it,  sly  bo-peep, 
Nor  will  its  orders  always  keep. 
Mandamus  on  mandamus  comes 
From  court  by  conscience  kept  and  run, 
The  devil  serves  process  in  tones 
That  scare  poor  sense  and  spoil  its  fun. 
That  night  in  sweet  "Varieties" 
Were  many  thund'ring  consciences ; 
But  still  bewitching  play  went  on, 
And  righted  misapprehension. 
Sweet  truth,  but  not  in  monkish  mood, 
Came  out,  and  in  free  tresses  stood  ; 
She  gave  the  bowl  of  blood  to  law, 
Without  a  kiss,  the  people  saw, 
But  turn'd  to  mercy  all  in  tears, 
Embrac'd  and  kiss'd,  then  fled  the  fears. 
Thus  shriv'd  by  truth  and  grace  in  one, 


VISIT  TO  THE  "VARIETIES."  49 

The  play  grew  brighter  till  'twas  done. 

With  mingled  hope  and  fear  we  thought 

That  "John"  might  lose  his  "Little  Dot." 

For  "  Tackleton,"  both  mean  and  dried, 

His  jeal'sy  hard  to  stir  he  tried. 

"The  barn,  dear  John,  she's  there,  she's  there, 

With  that  young  '  Salt '  from  o'er  the  sea ; 

He's  handsome  tho',  it  is  but  fair 

To  own,  but  so  much  worse  for  thee. 

His  nut-brown  hair,  his  hazel  eyes, 

His  form,  and  feature,  and  his  size, 

Look  just  like  hers,  as  near  as  can 

The  charms  of  woman  and  of  man. 

They  stroll  together  everywhere, 

JSTow  'mong  the  orchard  trees  they  are, 

Now  in  the  deep  and  secret  grove, 

Beyond  all  eyes  save  One  above, 

He  plots,  dear  John,  against  thy  heart, 

And  seeks  her  life  from  thine  to  part. 

Roll  back  the  tide  of  coming  woe  1 

See !  do !  ere  it's  too  late  to  do  I 

Woman's  a  name  for  falsity, 

A  dark  and  deep  immensity 

Of  mystery — who  can  explain  ? 

I  trust  her  not — she's  made  in  vain !  " 

All  eyes  and  ears  were  open  wide, 

As  John  and  Tack  stood  side  by  side, 

One's  face  was  written  o'er  with  self, 

And  one  with  honor's  soul  itself. 

"  Old  Tack,  thou  puritanic  wretch !  " 

Said  John,  "  Thy  neck  deserves  to  stretch  I 

Thou  lying  fiend !    How  dar'st  thou  blot 

The  honor  of  my  little  Dot, 

With  lies  from  out  thy  lying  throat, 

4 


5O  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

Each  He  a  mountain  frora  a  mote  ? 

I'll  brain  thee  (raised  fist)  if  thou  don't  repent 

And  send  thee  where  thou  should'st  be  sent  I 

D'ye  hear  I"  "Yes,  Sir,  distinctly,  Sir, 

I  hear,  I  hear,"  whin'd  the  old  cur, 

"  Don't  strike  me,  John,  for  I'm  a  priest, 

Nor  treat  me  as  you  would  a  beast." 

Now  John  look'd  out  upon  the  lawn 

And  spied  his  little  Dot  with  one 

In  sailor  jacket  short,  not  long, 

Come  tripping  on  with  flow'rs  and  soiig, 

The  raven  flapp'd  his  wings  but  once — that's  all, 

The  pair  were  in  the  cottage  hall ; 

The  skylark  rose,  went  up  the  sky, 

And  sung;  "  Dot's  brother's  home  to  lire  and  die." 

The  play  was  do»e  and  love  remain'd  ; 

The  union  was  preserved,  tho'  strained 

By  tests  of  slander,  malice,  hate, 

It»  strength  was  prov'd  too  much,  too  great. 

And  here  a  moral  lesson  came, 

An  emblem  of  our  country's  life; 

And  as  the  sequel  showed,  the  same 

As  harmony  'twixt  man  and  wife. 

Now  Uncle  Sam,  like  Brigham  Young,  you  know, 

Had  many  wives,  say  thirty  or  so, 

And  Lou'si  Ann  would  snap  the  Fed'ral  band, 

And  let  the  Young  Confed'rate  take  her  hand. 

Her  children  were  Frenchy,  fickle  and  warm, 

And  held  a  grand  pow-wow  in  the  wigwam ; 

They  solemnly  said  their  mother  should  wed 

The  young  suitor,  and  leave  the  old  man's  bed. 

But  we  waited  not  to  witness  the  lot 

Of  the  old  and  the  new,  but  left  the  spot, 

Our  way  to  pursue,  tho'  clouds  made  us  rue 

Leaving  the  old  for  the  strange  and  the  new. 


NEW  ORLEANS.  Jl 


CHAPTER   V. 

NEW  ORLEANS  AND  GALVESTON. 

;EW  ORLEANS  stands  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  the  Mississippi  River,  one  hundred 
and  ten  miles  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico, 
and  is  called  the  "  Crescent  City,"  because 
of  the  sublime  and  beautiful  sweep  of  the 
"  Father  of  Waters  "  around  the  city  in  a  perfect 
circle,  striking  in  on  the  north,  thence  circling  to 
the  west,  then  south,  then  east,  then  gently  north, 
on  a  bend  enchanting  to  behold,  coming  up  to 
the  landing  at  a  point  due  east  two  or  three 
rniles  only,  from  the  river  on  the  west  of  the  city, 
where  it  first  heaves  in  sight  to  the  traveler  on 
the  deck  of  a  steamer  coming  down,  making  a 
distance  of  ten  to  fifteen  miles  in  the  circuit, 
and  leaving  the  city  stand  on  a  grand  dead  level 
peninsula,  almost  an  island.  The  magnificent 
bosom  of  the  waters  heaves  and  presses  up  the 
river  sides  in  fresh  beauty  constantly,  as  if  "Old 
Neptune's"  soul  stood  beneath  in  the  river's 
mighty  depths,  and  throwing  out  broad  shoulders 


52  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

and  long  arms  spanning  its  breadth,  were  intent 
on  heaving  the  waters  over  its  leveed  banks  to 
deluge  and  drown  out  the  inhabitants. 

Water  is  taken  from  the  river  and  conducted 
along  either  side  of  the  streets,  just  at  the  edge 
of  the  sidewalks,  in  stone  ducts,  built  up  square 
a  foot  or  so  in  depth,  and  width.  With  such  fa- 
cilities for  irrigating  the  streets  New  Orleans 
may  be,  and  is,  one  of  the  cleanest  and  sweetest 
cities  in  the  world.  The  spirit  of  the  people 
seems  broken  since  the  war,  and  doubtless  many 
a  year  will  pass  ere  the  old  romantic  gayeties 
and  business  pluck  and  prosperity  will  come 
back  again.  The  evil  genius  of  the  "peculiar 
institution  "  is  gone  never  to  return,  though  its 
corporal  presence  remains,  to  man  the  live  in- 
dustries of  the  olden  times. 

But  to  resume  our  narrative  of  travel.  We 
staid  in  New  Orleans  during  the  night  of  the 
2  ist  of  January,  but  did  not  remain  the  next 
day  to  witness  the  further  movement  of  seces- 
sion, but  crossed  the  river  ferry  at  eight  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  and  took  the  train  at  Algiers,  on 
the  west  side,  for  Berwick's  Bay,  seventy-five 
miles  distant,  and  the  terminus  west  of  the  rail- 
road. Most  of  the  route  may  be  characterized 
as  crocodile  or  alligator  swamp.  It  was  covered 
with  water  and  heavy  timber,  and  a  thick  under- 


OCEAN  VOYAGE.  53 

growth  of  cane,  Spanish  daggers  and  dwarf 
palm,  such  as  is  manufactured  into  palm-leaf 
hats,  with  other  kinds  of  water  shrubbery. 
When  cleared  up  and  properly  prepared  these 
lands  will  make  splendid  rice  and  sugar  planta- 
tions. The  alligator  will  migrate  before  the 
hand  and  foot  of  civilization. 

Thence  we  shipped  by  "Morgan  Line"  of 
steamers  to  Galveston,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Nothing  occurred 
to  mar  the  general  pleasure  of  this  part  of  the 
journey.  Neptune  was  unusually  quiet,  only 
showing  his  disposition  in  gentle  undulations  of 
the  deep ;  no  heaving  billows,  with  white  caps 
breaking  on  their  angry  crests,  and  dashing  the 
iron-bound  vessel  up  in  the  air,  and  dropping 
her  again  in  cradles  of  the  deep ;  no  qualms  and 
retching  to  make  one  feel  he  didn't  care  whether 
the  vessel  lived  or  went  to  the  bottom,  but  rather 
preferred  the  latter;  and  the  sooner  the  better. 
No,  a  "  norther' "  was  blowing  off  mainland — • 
now  and  then  in  sight — and  laid  the  waters 
smooth  so  that  we  took  regular  meals  and  kept 
them  down,  and  were  not  thrown  from  our  berths 
by  a  bouncing  boat. 

On  approaching  Galveston  at  sea,  twenty 
miles  away,  vision  is  frequently  cheated  by  the 
intervention  of  a  mirage,  the  effect  of  which  is 


54  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

to  give  to  the  city  the  appearance  of  air-suspen- 
sion— a  heavenward  elongation,  sitting  on  the 
lap  of  the  ocean  with  no  terra  firma  beneath. 
But  on  nearer  approach  the  illusion  disappears, 
and  there  stands  before  you,  on  a  small  piece  of 
nature's  ground-work,  and  as  though  painted  by 
a  fairy  hand,  in  spiritual  shadows,  on  the  low 
extended  horizon  beyond,  Galveston,  exciting 
the  strange  beholder  into  the  romantic  feeling 
that  it  is  a  city  of  fairies.  And  though  the  ro- 
mance is  toned  down  by  the  reality  on  landing, 
yet  there  she  stands,  one  of  the  finest  and  most 
beautiful  cities  in  the  South  of  her  size.  She 
had  before  the  war  a  population  of  twelve  to 
fifteen  thousand,  and  in  one  year  after  the  war 
she  had  twenty-five  thousand  souls,  and  three 
thousand  additional  buildings. 

Galveston  stands  on  the  east  end  of  an  island 
of  the  same  name,  running  northeast  and  south- 
west, thirty  miles  in  length,  and  with  a  varying 
width  of  two  to  four  miles.  Plausible  tradition 
has  it  that  when  the  island  was  first  occupied 
and  settled  by  Anglo-Americans,  forty  to  fifty 
years  ago,  they  found  as  its  lone  occupant  a 
beautiful  Castillian  woman  in  male  attire,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  connected  with  the  notorious 
Captain  Lafitte,  who,  with  his  band,  committed 
piratical  depredations  on  the  Gulf  and  in  the 


GALVESTON.  55 

West  Indies,  and  who  had  headquarters  there 
and  up  the  wilds  of  the  Trinity  River.  Hence 
the  island  was  first  facetiously  called  "  Gal-with- 
a- vest-on,"  but  afterward  it  was  reduced  to  the 
more  elegant  trisyllabic  of  Galveston. 

The  island  is  a  huge  long  sandbank,  the  work 
of  the  Gulf  waters  for  ages  in  sand  deposits. 
The  indentation  of  the  main  shore  where  the 
island  lies  was  favorable  for  such  deposits. 
But  this  alone  does  not  sufficiently  account  for 
the  fact  that  the  island  is  at  that  particular  place. 
The  Gulf  Stream,  in  its  rebound  and  return 
movement  from  the  shore  of  Western  Texas,  a 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  the  southwest  of 
Galveston,  after  having  been  driven  there  by  the 
"  trade  winds "  that  come  in  from  the  direction 
of  the  Coast  of  Africa — from  the  southeast, 
through  the  channel  between  Cuba  and  Yucatan 
— passes  near  the  island,  en  route  to  the  channel 
between  Florida  and  Cuba,  and  in  its  passage 
throws  off  inshore  the  sand  disturbed  and  gath- 
ered up  in  its  course  from  the  bottom  of  the 
Gulf.  Besides  Trinity  River  comes  in  at  the 
head  and  east  of  the  island,  and  passes  out  into 
the  Gulf  Stream  in  a  southeasterly  direction, 
throwing  to  the  right,  toward  the  island,  deposits 
similar  to  those  made  to  the  left  by  the  Gulf 
Stream.  Thus  do  we  theorize  as  to  the  natural 


$6  FIVE  YEARS    IN   TEXAS. 

causes  for  the  formation  and  existence  of  the 
island.  These  two  counter  forces  of  water  co- 
operate, and  between  them  have  made  it  what  it 
is.  Besides  this  sandbar  above  water  there  are 
lying  between  these  two  water  forces,  and  a  few 
feet  beneath  the  surface,  sand  reefs  running  from 
the  head  of  the  island  southeast,  and  circling 
south  and  west  five  or  six  miles,  forming  a 
splendid  outside  harbor,  with  a  depth  of  water 
ranging  from  a  minimum  of  ten  to  a  maximum 
of  seventy  feet.  The  heaviest  vessels  can  lie 
there  and  ride  at  anchor  in  perfect  safety,  as 
they  are  protected  from  the  heavy  "  trade  winds  " 
from  the  southeast,  and  others  from  the  south, 
by  these  reefs.  Nature  has  furnished  the  sur- 
face of  the  island  with  a  few  inches  of  light 
sandy  soil,  warm  and  quick-producing,  growing 
corn,  the  largest  and  sweetest  sweet  potatoes, 
the  largest  and  most  delicious  melons  of  all 
kinds  one  ever  saw  or  ate,  with  garden  sauCe 
of  every  name  and  nature ;  even  Irish  potatoes, 
if  grown  from  seed  imported  from  the  north 
each  year.  The  whole  island  from  the  city  to  the 
southwest  end  thereof  furnishes  fine  grazing  for 
cattle  and  other  stock,  and  the  butchers  keep 
their  beeves  there  a  few  days  before  they  are 
slaughtered  and  sold  in  the  market,  and  the  beef 
when  marketed  and  on  the  table  is  the  sweetest 


GALVESTON.  57 

and  most  savory  the  writer  ever  found  in  any 
country,  particularly  that  fattened  oh  mesquite 
grass.  The  Gulf  beach  in  low  tide  furnishes 
the  finest  ride  or  drive  imaginable,  and  at  even- 
tide hundreds  of  vehicles  and  pedestrians  may 
be  seen  enjoying  themselves  there. 

The  commercial  importance  of  Galveston  may 
be  judged  of  by  the  single  fact  that  of  the  four 
hundred  thousand  bales  of  cotton  produced  in 
Texas  in  the  year  1860  three  hundred  thousand 
bales  were  compressed  and  exported  at  Galves- 
ton, worth  at  that  time  $15,000,000  in  gold,  but 
would  now  be  worth  $25,000,000.  The  geo- 
graphical location  of  Galveston  speaks  also  for 
its  commercial  importance.  It  is  the  New 
York  of  Texas,  and  Galveston  Island  is  the 
Long  Island  of  Texas.  The  inside  harbor  lies 
in  the  bay  immediately  in  the  rear  of  the  city, 
between  the  island  and  the  mainland,  where  the 
bay  is  two  miles  wide.  The  entrance  to  the 
harbor  has  ten  feet  of  water  over  the  bar  in  low 
tide,  and  fourteen  to  sixteen  feet  in  high  tide. 

Galveston  lies  in  twenty-nine  degrees  north 
latitude,  and  midway  between  the  mouth  of  the 
Mississippi  River  on  the  east,  and  Mexico  and 
the  Rio  Grande  on  the  west.  If  you  draw  an 
imaginary  line  commencing  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Columbia  River,  in  Oregon,  running  southeast; 


58  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

another  line  commencing  at  Lake  Itasca,  the 
headwaters  of  the  Mississippi,  running  due 
south,  and  another  commencing  at  Portland, 
Maine,  running  due  southwest;  all  these  lines 
will  intersect  at  Galveston.  One  of  the  driving 
wheels  of  the  great  commercial  wagon  of  the 
United  States  stands  at  Galveston,  and  the  steam 
of  progress  is  driving  the  mighty  vehicle  west- 
ward, keeping  pace  with  the  "  star  of  empire." 
When  that  network  of  railroads  which  but 
for  secession  would  now  have  been  thrown  over 
all  Texas,  east,  west,  north  and  south,  tapping 
the  wheat  regions  of  Northern  Texas,  the  lum- 
ber regions  of  Eastern  Texas,  the  stock  regions 
of  Western  Texas,  and  the  cotton  and  sugar  re- 
gions of  Southern  Texas;  we  say,  when  this 
railroad  system  shall  be  achieved  for  that  great 
country,  thus  developing  and  bringing  to  the 
markets  of  the  world  the  productive  resources 
of  Texas,  a  country  six  to  seven  hundred  miles 
square,  large  enough  to  lay  down  on  its  surface 
the  State  of  Massachusetts  more  than  thirty 
times,  and  not  lap  anywhere,  the  result  will 
be  wonderful  beyond  all  present  calculations. 
Every  variety  of  soil  is  found  in  Texas,  and  all 
kinds  of  grain  and  fruit  can  be  produced  there, 
with  sugar,  and  cotton  one  to  four  bales  to  the 
acre. 


TEXAS.  59 

Texas  is  a  country  of  great  extremes  and  con- 
tradictions. It  is  the  hottest  and  coldest;  the 
driest  and  wettest;  it  has  the  most  streams  and 
the  least  water,  some  wet  and  some  dry,  and 
mostly  dry  at  that;  the  best  soil  and  the  poor- 
est, very  little  of  the  latter;  the  most  cattle 
and  the  least  milk,  and  butter,  and  cheese,  and 
beef;  the  most  salubrious  climate  and  most  sud- 
den changes  of  weather;  the  least  rain  and 
heaviest  rain-storms ;  the  sunniest  sky  and  most 
terrific  thunder-storms;  the  most  balmy  Gulf 
breezes  and  most  bitter  biting  northers ;  long 
rivers  and  least  navigation;  the  heaviest  pine 
forests  and  least  pine  lumber;  the  best  types  of 
society,  and  the  meanest  the  sun  ever  shone 
upon. 

Portable  saw-mills,  located  along  projected 
railroads  in  those  pine  forests  lying  in  Eastern 
Texas,  hundreds  of  miles  in  extent,  taking  Bra- 
zos River  as  the  dividing  line  between  Eastern 
and  Western  Texas,  would  coin  money  for  the 
proprietors.  And  the  prediction  is  safe  that  the 
time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  railroads  will  be 
built,  those  forests  felled  and  cut  up  into  lum- 
ber, towns  spring  up,  and  the  "wilderness  bud 
and  blossom  as  the  rose." 

The  wet  and  dry  seasons  come  in  pretty  reg- 
ular alternations,  each  in  a  series  of  seven  to 


6O  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS.' 

ten  years.  And  nature,  ever  faithful,  with  her 
"canny  hand"  has  recorded  these  meteorologi- 
cal histories  in  trees  of  the  forest,  and  the  rec- 
ord may  be  traced  back  through  a  period  of  two 
hundred  years.  The  unmistakable  record  is 
traceable  in  the  thick  and  thin  rings  or  grains 
of  the  trees,  varying  in  thickness  from  that  of  a 
wafer  to  a  quarter  of  an  inch,  in  grades  from 
thin  to  thick,  the  former  representing  the  dry, 
and  the  latter  the  wet  seasons. 

Now  some  crops  of  the  country  are  more  suc- 
cessfully raised  in  the  dry  seasons,  and  others 
in  the  wet.  Cotton  is  produced  in  the  greatest 
abundance  in  a  comparatively  dry  season ;  corn 
the  reverse.  So  that,  by  keeping  and  observing 
a  critical  meteorological  record  the  planter  can 
calculate  with  a  good  degree  of  certainty  what 
crops  would  promise  best  from  year  to  year. 
Thus,  we  believe,  Providence  has  made  it  feasi- 
ble, through  science  and  art,  for  man  to  live  and 
prosper  in  any  country  or  climate  under  the 
sun.  And  further,  the  normal  products  of  the 
different  countries  and  climates  are  most  suita- 
ble for  the  industries,  health  and  happiness  of 
the  inhabitants  thereof. 

If  the  labor  question  of  that  country  is  ever 
properly  settled  and  harmonized — in  regard  to 
which  we  are  more  hopeful  than  doubtful  from 


TEXAS.  6 1 

recent  data — the  leading  productive  interest  of 
Texas  will  continue  to  be  that  of  cotton,  par- 
ticularly in  the  southern-central  section.  But 
we  think  the  future  will  show  that  the  strongest 
rival  interest  will  be  grape  culture  and  wine 
making. 

It  is  now  conceded  and  agreed  by  practical 
men  in  the  business  of  grape-growing  there, 
that  the  soil  and  climate  of  Texas  are  admira- 
bly adapted  to  grape  culture ;  and  though  in  the 
past  cotton  has  engrossed  the  attention  of  the 
people  to  the  exclusion  almost  of  every  product 
except  corn,  now  the  cultivation  of  grapes  is 
assuming  prominent  and  tangible  shape,  and 
commanding  the  practical  attention  of  the  citi- 
zens of  the  State.  Besides,  the  next  few  years 
will  probably  bring  into  the  State  thousands  of 
vine-growers  from  the  South  of  France  and  Ger- 
many, who  will  make  this  their  principal  busi- 
ness. If  we  look  at  the  progress  made  with  the 
vine  in  Ohio  and  other  Northern  States,  with  a 
less  favored  soil  and  climate,  increasing  from 
four  thousand  acres,  ten  or  twelve  years  ago,  to 
two  millions  of  acres  now  devoted  to  wine- 
growing, yielding  large  profits  and  immense 
fortunes  for  those  engaged  in  the  business,  how 
much  greater  success  may  be  expected  to  accrue 


62  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS. 

from  an  equal  outlay  of  money  and  effort  in  the 
warm  loamy  soils  of  Texas. 

The  change  in  the  labor  system,  resulting 
from  the  late  war,  is  bringing  the  subject  into 
more  public  notice.  The  system  of  forced 
labor  no  longer  overshadows  and  oppresses  the 
spirit  of  progress  and  improvement  there.  The 
inveterate  slowness  of  the  country  must  give 
way  before  the  advancing  step  of  reform,  and  as 
increasing  light  breaks  in,  bringing  to  public  view 
the  ponderous  follies  of  the  past  industrial  his- 
tory of  the  country,  new  ideas  will  be  allowed 
and  patronized ;  new  experiments  made  on  scien- 
tific principles,  and  the  present  and  prospective 
resources  of  the  country,  heretofore  undiscov- 
ered or  neglected,  will  be  developed  to  a  degree 
of  profit  and  fortune  that  will  astound  the  people 
themselves.  When  the  people  see  that,  in  the 
matter  of  grape  culture,  a  few  acres  cultivated  in 
the  vine  will  yield  as  large  a  profit  as  a  cotton 
plantation  ten  times  as  large,  and  requirmg  ten 
times  the  labor,  many  more  will  be  tempted  to 
plant  vineyards  and  reap  the  easy  reward ;  so  that 
after  they  are  well  planted  and  cared  for,  and  by 
the  third  year  have  reached  the  profitable  bear- 
ing period,  instead  of  fifty  dollars  per  acre,  at 
most,  net  profit,  as  with  cotton,  for  wine  only  a 
clear  profit  of  five  hundred  to  one  thousand 


TEXAS.  63 

dollars  per  acre  may  be  realized  from  grapes, 
and  equally  so  for  table  use.  Nor  is  there  dan- 
ger of  overstocking  the  market  with  so  useful 
and  healthful  a  delicacy.  The  greater  the  sup- 
ply the  greater  the  demand.  Our  remarks  on 
profits  of  grape  culture  are  not  imaginary  guess-, 
work,  but  based  on  well  ascertained  facts  in  the 
experience  of  vine-growers  in  Texas,  with  whom 
we  have  a  personal  acquaintance.  They  recom- 
mend the  following  varieties  as  doing  well  and 
being  profitable  there :  The  Concord,  Clinton, 
Diana,  Delaware,  Iowa,  Ives'  Seedling,  Herbe- 
ruont,  Creveling,  Hartford  Prolific,  Perkins, 
Black  July,  Jacques,  and  Rogers'  Hybrids  num- 
bers i,  3,  4,  9,  15,  19,  22;  and  they  say  the 
beginner  will  do  well  to  commence  with  the  Clin- 
ton, Concord,  etc.,  which  will  almost  take  care 
of  themselves.  The  Diana  is  a  fine  grape  for 
either  table  or  wine.  The  Delaware  and  Isabella 
are  fine  table  grapes,  and  the  best  native  growers 
they  have.  But  in  Texas  the  trouble  is  to 
choose,  for  they  nearly  all  do  well. 

As  an  indication  and  natural  justification  of 
the  most  sanguine  ideas  of  grape  culture  in 
Texas,  we  will  state  that  the  indigenous  Mustang 
grape  grows  there  spontaneously  in  great  waste- 
ful abundance,  along  the  water-courses,  on  the. 
uplands  and  upland  "dry  runs."  There  are 


64  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

cart-loads,  car-loads,  yes,  steamboat  loads  of 
them  growing  wild  over  the  country,  and  in  dif- 
ferent varieties.  From  this  kind  of  grape  are 
manufactured  just  those  claret  or  sour  wines 
most  grateful  to  the  tastes  of  people  in  hot 
climates. 

It  is  thought  by  many  good  people  in  Texas, 
and  as  a  temperance  expedient  too,  that  Provi- 
dence hereby  indicates  what  drinks,  aside  from 
water,  are  needful  for  the  health  and  temperate 
habits  of  the  country.  The  question  is,  why  is 
the  country  so  overstocked  with  this  kind  of 
grape  ?  not  by  accident,  or  for  mere  ornament, 
certainly,  nor  for  the  use  of  bird  or  beast,  for 
they  touch  them  not,  nor  yet  for  table  use,  as 
no  human  tougue  or  lips  would  last  long  coming 
in  contact  with  the  powerful  acid  of  the  hull  of 
this  kind  of  grape.  The  pulp  has  a  most  de- 
licious flavor,  but  can  not  be  sucked  from  its 
dark  inclosure  without  bringing  with  it  the  biting 
acid.  There  is  no  alternative ;  it  was  intended 
for  man's  use  after  being  transformed  into  wine. 


CLIMATE.  65 


CHAPTER    VI. 

EFFECT  OF  CLIMATE  ON  TASTES  AND  APPETITES. 

is  worthy  of  note  and  may  be  remarked 
that  one's  tastes  and  appetites  undergo  great 
changes  in  passing  from  a  high  northern 
clime  to  a  southern ;  so  much  so  that  to  his 
own  surprise  one  finds  himself  literally  accom- 
plishing the  experience  of  "  loving  what  he  once 
hated,  and  hating  what  he  once  loved."  For 
example,  buttermilk  and  clabber  are  delicious  to 
the  taste  there ;  but  few  people  ever  think  of 
them  in  the  North  except  in  association  with 
food  for  swine.  There,  for  convenience  of  using 
at  meals,  the  milk  fresh  from  the  cow  is  first 
strained  into  bowls  and  tumblers,  and  then  set 
aside  and  left  stand  for  the  cream  to  rise,  and 
the  hot  weather,  with  or  without  thunder-storms, 
to  inspissate  the  milk  into  clabber.  Then  it  is 
brought  on  as  the  most  delicious  dish  on  the 
table,  reserved  as  dessert  for  the  last  round,  sprin- 
kled with  clean  white  sugar. 

The  difference  of  feeling,  taste,  appetite  and 
5 


66  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

temper  we  experience  in  changing  climates  is 
exactly  measured  by  the  isothermal  difference, 
of  our  latitudes.  One  may  have  a  sweet  platonic 
temper  in  the  North,  but  in  changing  latitude 
ten  or  fifteen  degrees  southward,  he  will  be  sur- 
prised to  find  his  temper  tending  to  a  change 
of  ten  or  fifteen  degrees  also.  And  if  he  be  a 
Christian  he  will  be  tempted  at  times  to  think 
divine  grace  not  sufficient  to  preserve  the  peace 
between  conscience  and  conduct.  The  reader 
will  please  note  that  we  speak  in  these  matters 
not  from  observation  alone  but  with  the  author- 
ity of  experience  also. 

We  knew  a  minister  of  religion  there,  a  recent 
import  from  the  virtuous  and  platonic  North, 
who  had  not  been  thoroughly  mad  for  twenty 
years,  and  who  possessed  no  little  degree  of 
self-complacency  on  the  score  of  an  invincible 
equanimity  of  temper;  and  fhis  feeling  had  the 
merit  of  fact;  so  much  so  that  once  on  a  time, 
before  his  migration  southward,  one  of  his 
friends,  observing  his  uniform  evenness  of  tem- 
per, even  in  the  midst  of  great  provocation,  and 
becoming  irritated  at  his  want  of  irritation,  said 
to  him :  "  Tell  me,  Sir,  why  is  it  that  you  don't 
get  mad  sometimes ;  your  want  of  temper  seems 
unmanly,  unnatural,  and  savors  of  effeminacy, 
and  reminds  me  to  quote  Shakespeare  on  you 


CLIMATE.  67 

thus:  You  can  'smile,  and  smile,  and  be  a  vil- 
lain still.'  Don't  refuse  to  express  indignation 
on  just  occasion,  but  blow  off  the  pent-up  stuff; 
a  little  thunder  now  and  then  purifies  a  sultry 
atmosphere." 

We  saw  this  clerical  specimen  of  "patience 
on  a  monument"  one  day  suddenly  lose  his 
virtuous  temper,  and  fall  into  a  paroxysm  of 
madness,,  and  on  slight  provocation,  quite  fear- 
ful to  behold,  in  which  he  poured  out  the  vials 
of  his  wrath  upon  his  friend,  to  the  exhaustion 
of  all  decent  epithets.  Samson  was  shorn  of 
his  strength  and  left  weak  like  another  man, 
self-mortified  beyond  measure !  Much  we 
searched  to  know  the  cause  of  this  sudden 
transformation,  and  while  we  wondered  fancy 
heard  a  voice  whisper,  "  The  climate,  the  cli- 
mate." 

From  this  standpoint  we  commenced  a  series 
of  observations,  and  became  satisfied  the  fancied 
suggestion  was  correct.  We  found  by  pushing 
inquiry  far  enough  that  church  members  were 
considered  quite  excusable  in  the  use  of  pro- 
fane language  when  driving  ox  or  mule  teams. 
The  offense  was  not  regarded  as  deservingtsevere 
reprimand  or  expulsion  from  the  church.  A 
more  puritanic  style  of  Christian  morals  would 
not  allow  the  excuse  to  be  carried  to  such  a  de- 


68  FIVE   YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

gree  of  license,  for  it  sternly  insists  that  the 
Christian  should  be  master,  and  not  subject,  at 
the  hour  of  trial,  and  will  scarcely  allow  that 
circumstances  may  be  reckoned  in  the  moral 
count  to  palliate  offenses. 

Doubtless  the  standard  of  moral  sentiment 
with  the  public  in  gross  is  lower  in  Texas  than 
elsewhere  in  the  South,  because,  forsooth,  it  is 
a  newer  country;  and  in  this  respect  partakes 
of  the  free  and  easy  characteristics  common  to 
all  new  countries  in  their  pioneer  life.  Besides, 
it  was  originally  settled  by  an  Anglo-American 
element,  called  in  the  expressive  parlance  of 
those  days  "  renegade  Americans,"  from  the 
"  States,"  "  refugees  from  justice  "  many  of  them, 
smart,  shrewd  and  unscrupulous,  whose  sons 
are  now  on  the  stage  of  action.  This  was  the 
element  which,  during  the  late  war,  found  an 
opportunity  for  the  gratification  of  its  native  in- 
stincts, and  dominated  everything,  and  inaugur- 
ated and  kept  alive  a  perfect  reign  of  terror  in 
the  absence  of  the  better  class  of  citizens  at  the 
seat  of  war.  Haifa  dozen  of  these  desperadoes 
could  intimidate  and  plunder  a  town  without  let 
or  hindrance;  and  if  any  one  objected  or  offered 
resistance  he  was  shot  down  like  a  dog,  and 
nothing  said  or  done  about  it.  Eight  or  ten  of 
them  entered  our  store  one  day,  in  the  summer 


ROBBERY.  69 

of  1863,  and  in  our  presence  helped  themselves 
to  suits  of  clothing,  boots  and  shoes,  hats  and 
caps,  taking  from  six  to  eight  hundred  dollars' 
worth,  in  gold.  Some  of  them  duplicated  and 
triplicated  the  robberies.  One  of  them  walked 
up  to  us  and  flourishing  a  sixshooter  across  the 
counter,  said :  "  If  you  say  a  word  there  is  what 
will  make  daylight  shine  through  your  d — d  Yan- 
kee carcass."  The  situation  was  not  pleasant  at 
all,  but  there  was  no  relief.  They  walked  off  with 
their  plunder,  and  we  thought  as  they  went, 
"good  riddance  to  bad  rubbish;"  but  no,  this 
was  not  the  end  of  the  matter,  for  on  the  prin- 
ciple that  man  never  forgives  whom  he  has  in- 
jured, we  had  to  meet  a  personal  challenge  to  a 
duel  from  the  leader  of  the  gang,  the  one  who 
had  threatened  to  make  daylight  shine  in  a  disa- 
greeable way.  The  challenge  was  given  because 
we  had  said  to  a  lady  accomplice  of  theirs,  who 
was  in  the  store  after  the  robbery,  ostensibly  to 
purchase  goods,  but  really  to  draw  us  out  in 
some  unguarded  remark  that  could  be  used  as 
an  excuse  for  an  attack  on  us :  "  That  in  ordi- 
nary times,  their  conduct  would  be  considered 
no  less  a  crime  than  robbery."  Our  challenger 
said  he  was  ready  to  stake  his  life  in  vindication 
of  his  conduct,  and  he  turned  pale  and  trembled 
like  an  aspen  leaf.  While  he  was  excited  we 


7O  FIVE   YEARS    IN   TEXAS. 

kept  cool,  and  suggested  to  him  that  perhaps 
his  information  about  what  had  been  said  was 
not  quite  correct,  and  even  if  it  were,  and  we 
should  fight  over  the  matter,  and  one  of  us 
should  have  the  satisfaction  of  carrying  the 
other's  blood  on  his  soul  to  the  judgment,  we 
did  not  see  how  that  would  change  the  character 
of  their  original  conduct.  That  if  he  were  rea- 
sonable the  matter  could  be  adjusted  between 
us  peaceably.  And  on  appealing  to  his  better 
judgment,  he  conceded  we  were  right,  and  said 
in  conclusion : 

"  Mr.  North,  though  you  are  from  our  enemies' 
country  I  believe  you  are  a  gentleman,  and 
hereafter  I  am  your  friend." 

"  Well,"  said  we,  "  how  much  better  such  a 
termination  to  a  bad  matter  than  to  make  targets 
of  ourselves  in  a  duel.  And  now,  my  good  fel- 
low, let  by-gones  be  by-gones,  and  may  we  have 
a  better  understanding  in  the  future." 

"Agreed,"  he  said,  and  we  parted. 

We  met  casually  afterward,  and  he  minded 
the  treaty. 


OATH   OF  OFFICE.  7 1 


CHAPTER    VII. 

HE  oath  of  office  in  Texas  is  the  same  it  is 
in  Illinois ;  and  yet  it  seems  to  have  little 
power  to  save  the  country  from  the  curses 
of  the  dueling  spirit.  It  would  seem  that 
the  "code  of  honor,"  so  called,  is  a  good  deal  de- 
moralized in  Texas,  in  comparison  with  its  status 
in  the  older  Southern  States — if  such  a  thing 
can  be  demoralized.  It  assumes  more  the  form 
of  open  and  secret  assassination — shooting  a 
man  down  behind  his  back,  or  in  the  dark,  or 
on  sight,  with  the  simple  warning,  "  Take  care 
of  yourself." 

A  duelist  can  not  hold  office  in  Texas,  but 
he  ran  defeat  a  good  law  by  turning  assassin, 
and  committing  a  crime  that  eclipses  the  one 
£w  bidden  by  the  oath  of  office. 

It  may  be  that  the  criminal  reports  of  Texas 
;an  show  that  a  man  has  been  hung  there  for 
killing  a  man, -but  it  is  doubtful.  But  many  a 
man  has  been  hung  for  stealing  a  horse  by 
"Judge  Lynch."  The  horse  thief  is  generally 


72  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

disposed  of  in  this  summary  way  without  judge 
or  jury;  and  even  when  tried  and  sentenced  by 
the  courts  to  the  penitentiary  the  officer  having 
charge  of  the  prisoner  for  safe  delivery  there, 
by  collusion  or  otherwise,  reports  him  "escaped," 
by  which  the  knowing  ones  understand  he  is 
rescued  from  the  officer  by  a  mob  and  hung  to 
the  nearest  tree.  Shame  on  such  law  and  order, 
even  among  barbarians.  But  such  are  the  issues 
of  life  and  death  in  Texas,  and  a  man  is  a  little 
nearer  death  there  all  the  while  than  in  any 
other  country  we  wot  of. 

As  an  example  of  the  jeopardy  of  human  life, 
and  how  crime  against  society  may  be  committed 
with  impunity  in  that  country,  we  will  give  the 
case  of  a  leading  business  man  in  one  of  the 
cities  of  Texas,  and  a  prominent  member  of  a 
leading  religious  body  (whose  name  we  withhold), 
who,  some  years  before  the  war,  had  a  personal 
difficulty  with  a  citizen,  who  had  threatened  him 
with  personal  violence.  He  had  him  placed 
under  arrest,  to  be  bound  over  to  keep  the 
peace ;  but  when  so  arrested,  and  in  the  hands 
of  the  officer  of  the  law,  and  at  a  moment  when 
he  was  most  harmless,  the  meek  follower  of  Him 
who  "  resisted  not  evil,"  drew  a  pistol  and  shot 
him  dead !  And  would  you  think  it,  to  the  dis- 
grace and  outrage  of  religious  decency,  and  law 


THE   DOCTOR  OF   DIVINITY.  73 

and  order,  no  notice  was  ever  taken  of  it  by 
either  the  courts  or  the  church.  He  has  been 
an  acceptable  member  of  the  same  religious 
sect  ever  since,  worshiped  at  her  altars,  taken 
her  sacraments,  said  her  prayers,  and  mingled 
in  her  fellowships.  We  have  frequently  seen 
him  taking  part  in  religious  service,  but  could 
never  set  eyes  on  his  reticent  cast-iron  face  with- 
out seeing  the  mark  of  Cain  upon  him.  In  the 
murderous  act  he  gave  the  clearest  evidence  of 
both  physical  and  moral  cowardice,  and  hellish 
revenge. 

But  after  all,  why  should  such  a  state  of  things 
be  thought  so  very  strange,  when  laymen  have 
the  example  of  the  priest.  "  Like  people,  like 
priest,"  is  true  in  more  senses  than  one.  There 
is  a  certain  Doctor  of  Divinity  in  Texas  who  is 
said  to  be  a  man  of  profound  learning  and  intel- 
lectual refinement,  President,  before  the  war,  of 

University,  located  at  C.,  and  named  for  a 

celebrated  ecclesiastic.  This  divine  was  con- 
sidered and  admired  by  many  as  the  leading 
orator  of  the  State.  He  had  been  imported 
from  the  State  called  the  "Mother  of  Presi- 
dents," a  few  years  prior  to  the  war,  to  push 
forward  and  build  up  the  educational  interests 
of  the  State,  and  especially  of  the  religious  de- 
nomination in  which  he  was  a  shining  light. 


74  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

But  when  secession  was  sprung  upon  the  peo- 
ple he  switched  off  on  that,  and  became  the 
most  violent  advocate,  perhaps,  in  all  the  State, 
of  the  right  and  of  the  duty  of  Secession.  He 
canvassed  the  State  in  that  interest.  The  war 
opened,  he  raised  a  regiment,  was  made  its  colo- 
nel, and  went  to  the  front.  It  was  not  long  be- 
fore reports  came  back  that  the  Doctor  was 
drinking,  and  had  been  seen  intoxicated  more 
than  once.  Meanwhile  his  ambition  was  strug- 
gling for  a  brigadier-generalship,  which  he 
never  reached.  Two  years  passed,  and  the  Con- 
federacy was  meeting  heavy  reverses  in  the 
field;  and  now  the  time  had  come  to  give  a  few 
more  turns  to  the  thumb-screws  of  conscription, 
even  to  the  extent,  as  General  Grant  said,  of 
"  robbing  the  cradle  and  the  grave." 

The  Doctor  was  just  the  man  to  send  home 
from  the  army  to  canvass  the  State  by  way  of 
bolstering  up  a  sinking  cause,  and  preparing  the 
people — what  were  left  of  them,  the  old  men 
and  women  and  babies — for  the  new  movements 
of  military  despotism.  We  heard  the  Doctor 
in  a  labored  speech  of  two  or  three  hours'  length, 
in  which  he  attempted  to  show  that  the  Con- 
federacy had  never  been  more  promising  of  final 
success.  That  though  some  appearances  were 
unfavorable,  such  as  the  loss  of  New  Orleans, 


THE   DOCTOR   OF   DIVINITY.  75 

Vicksburg  and  the  command  of  the  Mississippi 
River,  and  some  other  ^//important  points,  yet 
the  spirit  of  the  Confederacy  was  unbroken,  the 
armies  were  withdrawing  from  all  unimportant 
places,  except  Richmond,  and  concentrating  on 
important  ones,  located  off  the  principal  thor- 
oughfares of  the  country,  little  towns  among 
the  by-ways  and  hedges,  out  of  harm's  way, 
where  the  enemy  could  not  reach  them,  and 
where  strategic  movements  could  be  planned 
without  molestation  from  the  enemy,  and  from 
whence  dashing  surprises  could  be  executed 
upon  him  without  fear  of  a  return  of  the  compli- 
ment with  interest.  A  policy  which,  the  speaker 
said,  was  quite  the  reverse  of  that  of  the  Union 
armies,  as  they  were  obliged  to  scatter  in  pro- 
portion as  the  Confederates  concentrated,  in 
order  to  garrison  the  points  and  occupy  the 
country  thus  vacated.  The  argument  looked 
plausible  to  the  green  ones,  didn't  it,  reader  ?  It 
is  always  easy  to  make  people  believe  what 
they  want  to  believe. 


FIVE   YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 
THE  DOCTOR'S  PRIZE-RING  ILLUSTRATION. 

UT  at  last  the  Doctor  gave  his  spell-bound 
audience  the  benefit  of  a  prize-ring-  illustra- 
tion, which  ran  on  this  wise :  He  said  "  that 
the  Southern  champion  had  choice  of 
ground,  and  the  corner  in  the  ring  with  his  back 
to  the  sun,  which  compelled  the  Northern  pugi- 
list to  face  the , fiery  orb,  which  he  regarded 
quite  an  advantage,  as  he  thought  '  Sam '  could 
not  long  endure  the  hot  blaze  in  his  face.  He 
described  '  Sam '  as  a  man  of  giant  frame  and 
strength,  but'  awkward  movements,  and  ques- 
tionable powers  of  endurance,  a  Goliath  in  ap- 
pearance, fearful  to  look  upon  or  to  hear,  his 
voice  like  that  of  his  Philistine  prototype.  But  he 
had  not  the  pluck,  the  heroism,  the  chivalry  of 
his  antagonist,  and,  indeed,  could  not  have,  for  he 
was  descended  from  the  Roundheads  of  England, 
who  in  all  their  generations  had  been  a  pesti- 
lent and  meddlesome  race  of  fanatics  wherever 
found,  at  home  and  abroad.  Not  so  with  the 


PRIZE-RING   ILLUSTRATION.  ^/ 

Southern  champion.  'Johnny'  came  down  from 
the  Olympic  heavens  of  the  English  Cavaliers, 
brave,  chivalrous,  with  small  but  compact  frame, 
agile,  confident,  the  very  David  of  the  Southern 
house  of  Israel." 

He  said  "  the  prize  was  the  grandest  ever  bat- 
tled for  among  the  battling  nations.  The  fight 
in  the  first  few  rounds  was  a  regular  stand-up 
give-and-take.  The  first  knock-down  and  first 
blood  were  awarded  to  'Johnny'  at  Bull  Run, 
or  Manassas.  After  that  he  feinted,  dodged  and 
Retreated,  till  at  Richmond  he  got  in  a  stunning 
blow  on  the  giant,  and  '  sent  him  to  grass:'  After 
being  well  sponged  up  in  the  Washington  cor- 
ner, by  Abraham  and  Mac,  his  seconds,  the  giant 
came  to  time  again,  and  a  few  more  rounds  were 
had,  at  Gettysburg,  Fort  Donaldson,  Shiloh, 
Perryville,  New  Orleans  and  Vicksburg,  where 
the  little  man  of  the  South  was  repeatedly 
knocked  down  and  roughly  handled  in  chancery. 
'Johnny'  tried  once  to  suddenly  flank  'Sam' 
and  get  first  to  the  Washington  corner,  which 
well-nigh  proved  fatal  to  his  resources  of  strength 
and  endurance. 

"  After  this  the  programme  of  the  little  David 
was  changed  to  dodging,  retreating,  falling,  a  la 
Tom  Sayers ;  but  he  was  to  put  in  a  telling  Slow 
when  he  could,  tapping  the  wind,  closing  the 


?8  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

sight,  and  drawing  blood  as  much  as  possible,  and 
when  he  couldn't,  to  depend  mainly  on  avoiding 
blows,  but  keep  on  provoking  them,  thus  leaving 
'Sam'  to  exhaust  himself  in  'beating  the  air/ 
as  heavy  blows  given  in  the  air  are  more  hurtful 
and  exhausting  to  the  striker  than  when  deliv- 
ered upon  an  object.  David  was  to  make  feints 
and  dodge,  which  would  set  the  Northern  Phil- 
istine in  a  rage  after  him  around  the  ring,  the 
one  giving  prodigious  blows  in  the  air,  the  other 
keeping  out  of  harm's  way." 

This  sort  of  negative  policy  the  learned,  pious 
and  patriotic  Doctor  claimed  would  "  give  vic- 
tory to  the  Southern  champion,  and  he  would 
bear  the  giant's  head  in  triumph  to  the  camp  of 
Israel." 

Save  the  want  of  rhetorical  dignity  in  the 
illustration,  it  was  all  well  enough,  only  so  it 
had  been  true  to  the  facts,  but  unfortunately 
subsequent  events  went  to  show  that  the  little 
wiry  man  of  the  South  became  exhausted  by 
the  dodging  and  retreating  policy  first,  and  went 
under  at  last,  and  the  bloody  sponge  was  thrown 
up  in  token  of  his  defeat. 

*Some  time  before  this  appearance  of  the  divine 
orator  a  card  appeared  in  the  Houston  press, 
over  the  Doctor's  name,  threatening  dire  ven- 
geance upon  his  slanderers,  according  to  the 


THE  WEALTHY  PLANTERESS.  79 

code  duello.  In  his  speech  he  referred  to  the 
card,  and  then  giving  a  Randolphian  angle  and 
shake  to  his  dexter  index  finger  said,  with  bitter 
venom,  "  that  card  is  to  stand  till  after  the  war, 
when  there  will  be  time  to  settle  with  my  ene- 
mies." The  moral  disgust  we  felt  at  this  vile 
utterance  was  simply  unutterable. 

The  next  day  a  certain  widow  lady,  owner  of 
a  large  plantation  and  a  hundred  negroes,  was 
in  the  store ;  she  was  tall  and  straight,  with  sharp 
angular  features,  a  dark  Southern  complexion, 
black  hair  and  eyes  in  keeping,  a  masculine 
business  turn  of  mind,  and  occupied  perpendic- 
ular space  in  air,  about  five  feet  nine  inches. 
Taken  undivided  her  presence  was  rather  com- 
manding. Approaching  us  at  the  counter,  with 
quizzing  eye,  and  an  air  of  triumph,  she  said : 

"  Well,  Sir,  how  did  you  like  the  speech  yes- 
terday?" 

Generally  we  had  to  think  twice  before  speak- 
ing once,  frequently  three  times,  and  then  again 
keep  up  a  heavy  thinking,  and  not  speak  at  all. 
As  near  as  we  can  calculate  we  had  about  three 
thinks:  First,  who  was  the  Doctor?  second,  who 
was  the  lady  addressing  us  ?  and  third,  .who 
were  we  ?  Then  we  replied : 

"Madam,  I  have  no  fault  to  find  with  the 
speech  as  a  Confederate  speech ;  it  was  all  well 


8O  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

enough  in  that  regard.  As  a  piece  of  oratory  I 
admired  many  portions  of  it;  as  the  effort  of  a 
politician  on  the  stump,  or  of  a  jury  advocate, 
I  thought  very  well  of  it,  but  I  did  not  approve 
the  animus  of  the  speaker  when  judged  from 
the  standpoint  of  a  Christian  divine." 

"  Why,  Sir,  what  do  you  mean  ?  "  said  the  lady. 

"  I  mean,  Madam,  that  the  spirit  of  dueling 
is  not  the  spirit  of  Christ." 

"The  Doctor's  remarks  about  the  dueling 
card  pleased  me  more  than  anything  else,"  re- 
joined the  lady. 

"  That  part  of  the  Doctor's  remarks  I  disap- 
proved most,"  we  rejoined. 

"  Well,"  she  continued,  "  I  am  a  professing 
Christian,  and  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church. 
I  have  several  sons,  and  have  always  taught 
them  to  defend  their  characters  according  to  the 
code  of  honor,  and,  Sir,  if  your  ideas  are  correct 
then  I  confess  I  know  very  little  about  Chris- 
tianity." 

"  Very  likely,  Madam,  and  I  think  none  of  us 
know  much  about  the  true  spirit  of  it,  the  way 
we  are  going  on.  But,  my  dear  lady,  what  are 
the  Doctor's  grievances  when  compared  with 
those  of  Christ  and  his  Apostles  ?  and  yet  what 
would  you  think  of  the  idea  that  they  carried 
deadly  weapons  to  defend  their  characters  and 


THE  WEALTHY   PLANTERESS.  8 1 

persons  with?  Preposterous,  do  you  say? 
'  The  servant  is  not  above  his  Lord.'  If  the 
Master  might  not  do  so  how  much  less  the  ser- 
vant And  furthermore,  how  does  the  Doctor's 
case  stand  in  the  constellated  light  of  the  Mas- 
ter's declaration,  '  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this 
world,  else  my  servants  would  fight.' " 

"  Well,"  said  the  lady  again,  in  a  half  despond- 
ing tone,  "if  that's  the  true  doctrine  I  don't 
know  what  we  should  do  if  we  should  under- 
take to  carry  it  out  in  this  world.  But  then  I 
can't  believe  it,  and  that's  all  there  is  about  it 
with  me,  I  can't  believe  it." 

"  There's  the  trouble,  Madam,  we  don't  really 
and  practically  believe  what  we  profess  except 
when  the  truth  conserves  our  self-interest,  or 
our  convenience.  When  otherwise  we  can  not 
trust  God  for  results,  but  take  matters  out  of  his 
hands  and  control  them  ourselves,  and  for  our- 
selves. And  behold  what  dirty,  wicked  work  we 
make  of  it  sometimes." 

Just  then  the  wealthy  planteress  left,  as  though 
with  a  new  idea  in  her  head  and  heart. 

But  to  quote  the  Doctor  a  little  more.  He 
said :  "  After  the  war  I  intend  giving  myself  to 
the  legal  profession,  and  shall  not  return  to  the 
pulpit.  I  am  keeping  a  spotted  book.  All  per- 
sons who  refuse  to  go  into  the  army,  or  evade 
x  6 


82  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS. 

the  conscript  law  by  any  dodge  or  subterfuge 
whatever,  their  names  shall  go  down  in  the 
spotted  book,  to  receive  my  special  attention 
after  the  war,  personally,  professionally,  and 
,  politically,  and  I  swear  it  here  and  now;  they 
shall  be  hunted  in  town,  in  the  city,  through 
the  wilderness,  out  of  the  country,  and  perad- 
venture  a  worse  fate  may  befall  them ! " 

He  said :  "  If  Southern  independence  can  not  be 
achieved  I  would  prefer  to  go  under  the  English 
or  French  flag.  I  could  bear  being  whipped  by 
the  Mexicans,  by  England,  by  France,  or  by 
any  other  people  under  the  sun — even  by  the 
Hottentots — but  to  be  subjugated  by  a  meddle- 
some pusillanimous  race  that  says  ceow  for  cow, 
is  intolerable  to  the  last  degree." 

Two  years  after  this  speech,  when  the  war 
was  over,  we  met  the  Doctor  at  the  dinner-table 
of  the  City  Hotel  in  New  Orleans,  most  slouch- 
fully  dressed,  and  with  an  equally  slouchful  look ; 
at  least  so  imagination  played  through  our 
optics.  He  was  on  a  pilgrimage  to  Washington 
to  swallow  the  hated  "iron-clad,"  and  obtain  his 
pardon.  We  thought  appearances  indicated  that 
he  needed  a  pardon  bad,  both  from  Washington 
and  from  a  higher  source.  No  man  in  Texas 
had  done  more  to  promote  secession.  He  was 
a  violent  denunciator  of  all  who  did  not  sue- 


THE   DOCTOR  AND  THE  JUDGE.  83 

cumb  to  his  way  of  thinking,  and  tacitly,  at 
least,  gave  countenance  to  the  mob  spirit  against 
them. 

We  say,  is  it  strange  that  laymen  should  hold 
human  life  of  little  value  when  their  spiritual 
leaders  do  the  same.  Here  was  a  man  who  bore 
the  tri-colored  character  of  divine,  educator  and 
military  captain,  merging  the  whole  in  the  low, 
despicable  and  intensely  wicked  character  of 
duelist. 

It  is  only  two  years  since  the  writer  was 
back  in  Texas  a  few  months,  and  while  there  a 
political  meeting  was  held  at  the  city  of  H.,  one 

night.  At  that  meeting  Judge was  one  of 

the  speakers,  and  in  his  speech  made  some  caus- 
tic allusions  to  "  scallawags  "  which  the  Doctor 
construed  as  intended  by  the  speaker  for  him, 
whereupon  the  next  day  he  addressed  a  note  to 
the  Judge,  by  the  hand  of  his  friend,  demanding 
an  explanation,  which  was  refused  because  of  the 
arrogant  tone  of  the  language  in  which  the  de- 
mand was  made.  A  second  note  was  dispatched, 
repeating  the  demand,  and  closing  in  case  the 
Judge  again  declined  explanation,  with  a  chal- 
lenge to  fight,  conceding  to  him  choice  of  weap- 
ons and  place.  To  this  he  declined  as  before, 
and  for  similar  reasons;  also,  declined  accept- 
ance of  the  challenge  on  the  grounds  that,  first, 


84  FIVE   YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

he  had  conscientious  scruples,  and  second,  it 
was  a  violation  of  the  laws  of  the  land,  but  that 
if  attacked  he  should  defend  himself  in  accord- 
ance with  the  law  -and  right  of  self-defense. 

Now,  at  this  stage  of  the  affair  the  Doctor  was 
reduced  to  the  alternatives  of  yielding  the  point 
of  honor  or  shooting  on  sight.  He  chose  the 
latter.  So,  with  divers  and  sundry  weapons  of 
death — a  rifle,  a  double-barreled  shot-gun,  a 
six-shooter,  and  a  pair  of  derringers,  with,  per- 
haps, a  bowie-knife,  meaning  by  the  medley  of 
arms  to  observe  the  nice  point  of  using  the 
same  weapon  the  Judge  might  have  when  they 
met — he  took  position  on  Main  Street,  where 
his  game  had  to  pass. in  going  from  his  house  to 
his  office,  and  waited  there  two  or-  three  hours, 
but  the  Judge  did  not  appear.  By  this  time  a 
large  crowd  of  the  Doctor's  friends  and  neutral 
spectators  had  gathered  round,  and  the  enraged 
divine — or  colonel,  as  he  was  then  called — 
stepped  upon  a  dry  goods  box  and  harangued 
the  excited  crowd,  closing  up  with  the  historic 
and  threadbare  denunciation  of  the  Judge  as  "  a 
scoundrel,  a  liar  and  a  coward,"  and  he  would 
shoot  him  when  and  wherever  he  saw  him.  He 
then  retired  to  private  quarters,  to  be  flattered 
by  a  few  friends  for  his  brave  and  chivalrou? 
conduct.  Of  course  the  Judge  was  a  scoundrel 


THE   DOCTOR  AND  THE  JUDGE.  8$ 

a  liar  and  a  coward,  because  the  Colonel  said  so, 
in  the  God-defying  spirit  of  hate  and  murder. 
He  could  not  be  a  good  man,  an  honest  man,  or 
a  brave  or  true  man,  after  this ;  no,  the  Colonel 
had  said  it  before  men  and  angels,  and  laughing 
devils,  and  the  universe  was  bound  to  credit  his 
ipse  dixit.  The  parties,  however,  were  soon 
reconciled  by  the  good  and  pacific  offices  of  the 
Masonic  fraternity,  of  which  they  proved  to  be 
members.  The  Judge  said  he  did  not  intend 
his  remarks  on  scalawags  for  the  Colonel,  and 
did  not  know  the  Colonel  was  a  Mason.  And 
the  Colonel  said  he  did  not  know  the  Judge  was 
a  Mason,  or  he  might  have  acted  differently; 
that  the  Judge  was  a  gentleman,  and  he  certainly 
felt  bound  to  make  the  amende  honorable.  How 
changed!  The  furious  madman  would  have 
killed  him  but  a  few  hours  ago,  but  suddenly  he 
becomes  as  "gentle  as  a  sucking  dove."  O, 
poor  deluded  devotee  of  the  dueling  code,  thou 
wouldst  have  imbrued  thy  hands  in  the  blood  of 
thy  fellow,  and  on  thine  own  mistaken  suspicion! 
Well,  God  pity  thee  till  thou  learnest  better,  and 
ceasest  thy  barbarity  of  soul ! 


86  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 


CHAPTER    IX. 

BABEL   OF   TONGUES. SAM    HOUSTON. 

01  HE  center  of  attraction  to  all  political  parties 
[j$  in  the  South  was  slavery;  and  no  party 
could  expect  to  exist  with  any  respectable 
dimensions,  or  to  possess  any  organic  force 
in  public  affairs  that  did  not  gravitate  in  that 
direction.  It  was  the  Banquo's  Ghost  of  every 
occasion  and  emergency.  It  is  true,  however, 
that  there  was  a  weak,  maudlin,  and  mawkish 
anti- slavery  ism  here  and  there,  through  the 
South ;  but  it  had  no  bowels  of  effective  demon- 
stration ;  no  inherent  potency  of  melting  mercy 
and  just  indignation,  to  stem  the  counter  cur- 
rent, and  throw  off  the  shackles  self-imposed. 
But  when  the  South  had  drifted  on  the  shoals 
of  secession  the  issues  were  changed,  and  large 
and  respectable  masses  of  the  people  preferred 
the  Union  to  slavery ;  but  still  the  institution 
dominated  everything  in  the  shape  of  political 
action.  The  situation  now  was  attended  with 
schismatic  sentiment  and  covert  action  against 


BABEL  OF   TONGUES.  8/ 

it,  as  witnessed  in  the  babel  of  tongues  on  the 
question  of  secession. 

There  were  different  parties  in  Texas,  repre- 
senting many  different  views  and  measures,  to 
meet  the  new  monster  now  emerging  from  the 
deep  waters  of  the  nation's  life. 

First  and  foremost,  the  old  original  died-in- 
the-wool,  South  Carolina,  John  C.  Calhoun, 
nullification  party,  which,  though  fewest  in  num- 
bers, yet  embraced  in  its  ranks,  most  of  the 
talent,  wealth,  and  fashion  of  the  South.  This 
party  believed  in  secession  per  se,  for  its  own 
sake ;  and  had  been  plotting  and  planning  for 
long  years  to  make  it  an  accomplished  fact. 
They  thought  the  suitable  occasion  had  now 
arrived  for  striking  the  effective  blow  in  its  be- 
half. They  could  now  fire  the  public  heart, 
through  the  medium  of  slavery,  and  win  the 
prize  of  Southern  independence. 

There  was  another  party,  more  numerous, 
who  accepted  the  doctrine  of  secession  as  the 
dernier  condition — that  the  rights  of  the  South 
could  not  otherwise  be  preserved  inviolate. 
They  argued,  "  Wait  till  the  commission  of  an 
overt  act  by  the  new  Administration — Con- 
gressional or  Executive  interference — then  will 
be  time  enough,  and  better  excuse  in  the  face 
of  the  nation  and  of  mankind,  for  secession." 


88  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

A  third  party  believed  in  preserving  the  Union 
at  almost  all  hazards  ;  even  with  the  loss  of  the 
peculiar  rights  of  the  South.  They  argued  and 
urged  that  Southern  rights  could  be  maintained 
by  fighting  for  them,  if  need  be  "  in  the  Union 
and  under  the  old  flag."  This  party  was  quite 
numerous. 

A  fourth  party  said,  but  dare  not  say  it  very 
loud,  "  Let  slavery  slide,  if  need  be  it  is  not 
worth  shedding  blood  over,  but  let  us  have  the 
Union.  Besides,  the  sentiment  of  all  mankind 
is  against  our  servile  system,  and  history  will 
dig  its  grave  at  last."  This  party  was  in  the 
minority  of  all. 

Still  a  fifth  party  opposed  secession  under  any 
circumstances,  on  the  ground  of  bad  policy,  and 
inexpediency.  They  said,  secession  is  suicide, 
the  very  course  to  pursue  by  which  to  swamp 
and  lose  our  rights.  Secession  will  be  a  stu- 
pendous failure,  and  we  shall  lose  by  it  the  very 
thing  we  propose  thereby  to  defend  and  save. 
Prophetic  words,  which  subsequent  events  liter- 
ally fulfilled. 

This  was  old  General  Sam  Houston's  position. 
He  led  this  party  in  Texas.  He  spoke  his  mind 
freely  anywhere,  and  in  the  face  of  threats, 
denunciations  and  mobs.  We  remember  the 
interest  and  excitement  manifest  a  few  days 


SAM    HOUSTON.  89 

before  the  vote  on  secession  was  taken  in  Texas, 
on  the  occasion  when  the  "old  man  eloquent" 
of  the  "  Lone  Star  State "  came  down  to  Gal- 
veston  from  Houston,  to  address  the  people  on 
the  exciting  topic.  The  rumor  spread  through 
the  city  that  Houston  had  come  and  would 
speak  the  next  day  at  eleven  o'clock  A.  M., 
from  the  second  gallery  of  the  Tremont  House. 
It  was  evident  there  was  a  deep  undercurrent  of 
excitement,  with  a  glassy  calmness  on  the  sur- 
face, as  in  "still  waters  that  run  deep."  There 
was  an  unsearchable  depth  in  each  man's  eye, 
like  the  shadowy  stillness  preceding  the  burst- 
ing storm.  In  the  morning  of  the  day  when  he 
was  to  speak  a  self-constituted  committee  of 
several  leading  citizens  waited  on  the  General 
at  his  quarters,  and  warned  him  not  to  attempt 
making  a  speech  that  day,  as  they  feared  serious 
disturbance  and  personal  harm  to  him.  They 
said :  "  General,  you  know  we  are  your  personal 
friends,  and  have  been  your  political  supporters 
heretofore,  but  we  are  opposed  to  your  views  on 
secession ;  still  we  don't  want  to  see  you  harmed." 
The  General  replied  with  characteristic  dig- 
nity :  "Gentlemen,  I  thank  you  for  your  personal 
considerations,  but  I  have  seen  stormy  times 
in  Texas  before,  and  I  have  seen  my  personal 
friends  tremble  for  my  safety  before;  but,  gen- 


QO  FIVE   YEARS    IN   TEXAS. 

tlemen,  I  shall  make  the  speech  to-day  at  eleven 
o'clock  A.  M.,  as  already  given  out,  from  the 
upper  gallery  of  the  Tremont  House — should 
be  pleased  to  see  you  there,  gentlemen,  to  hear, 
and  if  necessary  to  help  keep  order." 

One  of  the  parties  to  the  interview  came  into 
our  office  and  reported  what  had  passed.  The 
writer  had  then  never  seen  the  General,  and  felt 
a  strong  desire  to  go  and  hear  the  "  old  war- 
horse,"  but  concluded,  being  a  stranger  in  the 
country,  and  not  wishing  to  be  caught  in  the 
presence  of  a  mob,  not  to  go.  Eleven  o'clock 
came,  and  twelve,  and  some  one  came  in  and 
said :  "  Houston  is  speaking,  and  has  been  for 
an  hour,  and  all  is  quiet."  We  went  and  heard 
the  balance  of  his  speech.  After  seeing  and 
hearing  him  a  few  minutes  we  did  not  wonder 
he  was  not  disturbed  by  a  mob. 

There  he  stood,  an  old  man  of  seventy  years, 
on  the  balcony  ten  feet  above  the  heads  of  the 
thousands  assembled  to  hear  him,  where  every 
eye  could  scan  his  magnificent  form,  six  feet 
and  three  inches  high,  straight  as  an  arrow,  with 
deep  set  and  penetrating  eyes,  looking  out  from 
under  heavy  and  thundering  eyebrows,  a  high 
open  forehead,  with  something  of  the  infinite  in- 
tellectual shadowed  there,  crowned  with  thin 
white  locks,  partly  erect,  seeming  to  give  capil- 


SAM   HOUSTON.  9 1 

lary  conduction  to  the  electric  fluid  used  by  his 
massive  brain,  and  a  voice  of  the  deep  basso 
tone,  which  shook  and  commanded  the  soul  of 
the  hearer.  Adding  to  all  this  a  powerful  man- 
ner, made  up  of  deliberation,  self-possession  and 
restrained  majesty  of  action,  leaving  the  hearer 
impressed  with  the  feeling  that  more  of  his 
power  was  hidden  than  revealed.  Thus  appeared 
Sam  Houston  on  this  grand  occasion,  equal  and 
superior  to  it,  as  he  always  was  to  every  other. 
He  paralyzed  the  arm  of  the  mobocrat  by  his 
personal  presence,  and  it  was  morally  impossible 
for  him  to  be  mobbed  in  Texas,  and  if  not  there 
then  not  anywhere;  no,  not  even  in  that  hot 
country  which,  as  the  Boston  divine  said,  "  mod- 
esty forbids  us  to  name,"  and  which,  in  this 
respect,  is  the  best  synonym  for  it,  and  rival  of 
it,  we  can  imagine. 


Q2  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 


CHAPTER    X. 
SAM  HOUSTON'S  SPEECH. 

"HE  drift  of  Houston's  speech  was — the  inex- 
pediency and  bad  policy  of  secession. 

•  He  told  them  they  could  secure  without 
secession  what  they  proposed  to  secure  by 
it,  and  would  certainly  lose  through  it.  He  gave 
the  greater  force  to  his  declarations  by  appeal- 
ing to  them  to  know  if  he  had  not  generally 
been  right  in  the  past  history  of  Texas,  when 
any  great  issue  was  at  stake.  Told  them  he 
made  Texas  and  they  knew  it,  and  it  was  not 
immodest  for  him  to  say  so ;  that  the  history  of 
old  Sam  Houston  was  the  history  of  Texas,  and 
they  knew  it;  that  he  fought  and  won  the  battle 
of  annexation,  and  they  knew  it ;  that  he  origi- 
nally organized  and  established  the  Republic  of 
Texas,  and  they  knew  it ;  that  he  wrested  Texas 
from  the  despotic  sway  of  Santa  Anna ;  that  he 
commanded  at  San  Jacinto,  where  the  great 
Mexican  leader  was  whipped  and  captured,  and 
they  knew  it. 


SAM  HOUSTON'S  SPEECH.  93 

"  Some  of  you,"  he  continued,  "  opposed  the 
annexation  of  Texas  to  the  United  States,  and 
I  suppose  have  never  forgiven  me,  even  to  this 
day,  but  I  appeal  to  your  sober  judgments  if,  as 
it  were,  the  very  next  day  after  annexation  be-  ( 
came  history,  Texas  did  not  enter  upon  a  career 
of  fortune  she  had  never  realized  before.  I  ap- 
peal to  you  for  the  frank  confession  that  you 
have  always  prospered  most  when  you  have 
listened  to  my  counsels.  I  am  an  old  man  now. 
I  knew  you  in  infancy,  took  you  and  dandled 
you  on  my  knee,  nursed  you  through  all  your 
baby  ailments,  and  with  great  care  and  solici- 
tude watched  and  aided  your  elevation  to  politi- 
cal and  commercial  manhood.  Will  you  now 
reject  these  last  counsels  of  your  political  father, 
and  squander  your  political  patrimony  in  riotous 
adventure,  which  I  now  tell  you,  and  with  some- 
thing of  prophetic  ken,  will  land  you  in  fire  and 
rivers  of  blood. 

"  Some  of  you  laugh  to  scorn  the  idea  of 
bloodshed  as  a  result  of  secession,  and  jocularly 
propose  to  drink  all  the  blood  that  will  ever 
flow  in  consequence  of  it !  But  let  me  tell  you 
what  is  coming  on  the  heels  of  secession.  The 
time  will  come  when  your  fathers  and  husbands, 
your  sons  and  brothers,  will  be  herded  together 
like  sheep  and  cattle  at  the  point  of  the  bayo- 


94  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS. 

net;  and  your  mothers  and  wives,  and  sisters 
and  daughters,  will  ask,  Where  are  they?  and 
echo  will  answer,  where  ? 

"You  may,"  said  he,  " after  the  sacrifice  of 
countless  millions  of  treasure,  and  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  precious  lives,  as  a  bare  possibil- 
ity, win  Southern  independence,  if  God  be  not 
against  you;  but  I  doubt  it.  I  tell  you  that, 
while  I  believe  with  you  in  the  doctrines  of  State 
rights,  the  North  is  determined  to  preserve  this 
Union.  They  are  not  a  fiery  impulsive  people 
as  you  are,  for  they  live  in  cooler  climates.  But 
when  they  begin  to  move  in  a  given  direction, 
where  great  interests  are  involved,  such  as  the 
present  issues  before  the  country,  they  move 
with  the  steady  momentum  and  perseverance  of 
a  mighty  avalanche,  and  what  I  fear  is  they  will 
overwhelm  the  South  with  ignoble  defeat,  and  I 
would  say,  amen,  to  the  suffering  and  defeat  I 
have  pictured  if  the  present  difficulties  could  find 
no  other  solution,  and  that  too  by  peaceable 
means.  I  believe  they  can.  Otherwise  I  would 
say,  '  Better  die  freemen  than  live  slaves.' 

"  Whatever  course  my  State  shall  determine 
to  pursue  my  faith  in  State  supremacy  and  State 
rights  will  carry  my  sympathies  with  her.  And, 
as  Henry  Clay,  my  political  opponent  on  an- 
nexation said,  when  asked  why  he  allowed  his 


COLONEL  MOORE'S   REGIMENT.  95 

son  to  go  into  the  Mexican  War,  '  My  country, 
right  or  wrong,'  so  I  say,  my  State,  right  or 
wrong." 

We  noticed  several  times  the  very  men  ap- 
plauding the  speech  who  had  opposed  the 
speaker  and  the  speaking  in  the  morning.  The* 
power  of  General  Houston  over  a  Texas  au- 
dience was  magical  to  the  last  degree,  and 
doubtless  well  understood  by  himself;  hence  he 
feared  no  mobs. 

During  the  first  year  of  the  war  Colonel 
Moore  had  organized  a  splendid  regiment  of 
eleven  hundred  young  men,  volunteers  mostly 
from  Galveston,  finely  equipped,  of  which  Sam 
Houston,  Jr.,  was  a  member.  They  were  on  dress 
parade  daily,  and  presented  a  charming  appear- 
ance. It  was  as  fine  a  regiment  as  went  to  the  war 
from  any  section  of  the  country.  The  Colonel  was 
justly  proud  of  them,  and  fond  of  exhibiting 
their  superior  drill  and  "  dress  "  to  the  public,  and 
particularly  to  old  military  men.  They  fought 
their  first  battle  at  Pittsburg  Landing,  or  Shiloh, 
as  the  Confederates  called  it.  But  before  leaving 
the  island  for  the  seat  of  war  the  Colonel  invited 
General  Houston  to  review  his  regiment.  Now 
Judge  Campbell,  of  one  of  the  judicial  districts 
of  Texas,  and  Williamson  S.  Oldham,  member 
of  the  Confederate  Congress,  had  been  the  old 


96  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS 

General's  bitter  enemies  during  the  canvass  on 
secession.  They  had  followed  him  night  and 
day  through  the  State.  On  the  day  set  for  him 
•  to  review  and  put  the  regiment  through  some 
military  evolutions,  the  General  was  on  hand  at 
the  hour  and  place.  This  called  out  a  large 
concourse  of  people  to  witness  the  performance ; 
the  day  was  sunny  and  beautiful ;  the  hour  ten 
in  the  forenoon.  The  regiment  was  in  complete 
uniform  and  perfectly  armed;  their  arms  glis- 
tened in  the  sunbeams  as  they  stood  in  perfect 
dress,  and  at  "  present  arms,"  when  the  "  hero 
of  San  Jacinto,"  supported  by  their  Colonel, 
stood  in  front.  He  was  the  hero  of  San  Jacinto 
sure  enough,  for  there  he  stood,  in  the  same 
military  suit  he  had  worn  in  1836,  at  the  battle 
of  San  Jacinto,  when  Santa  Anna  was  captured; 
his  pants  tucked  in  the  tops  of  military  boots; 
suspended  at  his  side  was  the  same  old  sword, 
and  on  his  head  was  a  weather-beaten,  light- 
colored,  broad-brimmed  planter  hat,  the  left  side 
buttoned  up  to  the  crown.  There  he  stood,  the 
very  impersonation  of  the  olden  times.  It  was 
a  sight  for  sensation.  All  eyes  were  now  upon 
him,  some  of  them  dimmed  with  tears,  and 
many  a  throat  of  soldier  and  spectator  was  chok- 
ing down  feeling  unutterable — the  writer  with 
the  rest.  Not  a  word  had  yet  passed  the  Gen- 


REVIEW  OF  COLONEL  MOORE'S  REGIMENT.      97 

eral's  lips,  but  now  the  Colonel  passed  him  his 
own  sword  and  told  him  to  proceed.  Then 
came 

;  ORDER  No.  I. — " Shoulder  arms." 
I  ORDER  No.  2.—"  Right  about  face."  The 
regiment  now  facing  the  rear,  the  General  cried 
out  in  stentorian  tones  of  sarcasm :  "  Do  you 
see  anything  of  Judge  Campbell  or  Williamson 
S.  Oldham  there?"  "No,"  was  the  emphatic 
reply.  "  Well,"  said  the  General,  "  they  are  not 
found  at  the  front,  nor  even  at  the  rear." 

ORDER  No.  3. — "  Right  about,  front  face." 

ORDER  No.  4. — "  Eyes  right.  Do  you  sec 
anything  of  Judge  Campbell's  son  here  ?  "  "  No, 
he  has  gone  to  Paris  to  school,"  responded  the 
regiment. 

ORDER  No.  5. — "  Eyes  left.  Do  you  see  any- 
thing of  young  Sam  Houston  here?"  "Yes," 
was  the  thrilling  response. 

ORDER  No.  6. — "Eyes  front.  Do  you  see 
anything  of  old  Sam  Houston  here  ?  "  By  this 
time  the  climax  of  excitement  was  reached,  and 
regiment  and  citizens  together  responded,  in 
thunder  tones,  "Yes!"  and  then  united  in  a 
triple  round  of  three  times  three  and  a  tiger  for 
the  old  hero.  Thereupon  he  returned  the  Colo- 
nel his  sword,  with  the  remark,  "  There,  Colonel, 
that  will  do,  I  leave  you  to  manage  the  rest  of 
7 


98  'FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

+ 

the  maneuvering,"  and  retired   from  dress   pa- 
rade. 

The  old  General  died  at  Huntsville,  Texas,  a 
year  or  so  before  the  war  closed,  but  he  lived 
long  enough  to  see  fulfilled  what  he  had  pre- 
dicted in  his  speeches,  and  to  receive  the 
acknowledgment  from  'some  of  his  bitterest 
opponents  that  he  was  right.  His  lone  widow 
followed  him  to  the  grave,  by  yellow  fever,  De- 
cember 5,  1867.  Thus  ended  the  career  of  the 
Hercules  of  the  Lone  Star  State,  and  she  will 
never  do  herself  honor,  and  the  name  of  Hous- 
ton justice,  until  she  has  a  monument  for  him 
in  granite  or  marble,  surmounted  with  his  statue, 
or  an  equestrian  statue/  in  the  metropolis  of 
the  State. 


'ARGUMENTS  ON  SECESSION.  99 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ARGUMENTS  ON  SECESSION   IN  OUTLINE. 

N  the  platform  of  secession  there  was  barely 
one  plank  on  which  all  parties  could  stand  in 
agreement,  and  we  give  it  in  the  following 
words,  to  wit : 

"  Resolved,  That  the  rights  of  the  South  are 
seriously  threatened,  and  in  imminent  danger 
of  actual  invasion  by  the  North." 

This  was  the  solemn  affirmation  of  the  whole 
South.  But  on  the  question,  What  shall  be 
done,  what  measures  adopted,  what  course  pur- 
sued, to  make  the  most  and  the  best  out  of  the 
situation  ?  the  people  were  not  a  little  divided. 
We  will  recite  a  few  of  the  arguments  in  outline 
used  by  the  different  factions. 

The  original  secessionist  argued  from  the 
Constitution  itself,  that  the  States  out  of  which 
the  Union  was  formed  were  independent  sover- 
eignties antecedent  to  the  Union,  and  all  State 
elements  and  powers  were  reserved  to  the  sov- 


IOO  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS, 

ereignties  that  were  not  expressly  surrendered  to 
the  General  Government;  that  the  Constitution 
was  the  instrument  and  servant  of  the  Union, 
and  was  not  intended  to  reflect  its  power  back 
upon  the  reserved  rights  of  the  States.  That 
the  Constitution  did  not  forbid  secession  in  ex- 
press terms,  ergo,  the  right  of  secession  was 
negatively  implied  by  the  Constitution;  that  its 
silence  on  the  subject  was,  and  could  be,  no  bar 
to  the  right ;  that  it  could  not  take  notice  of  the 
subject  at  all,  as  it  is  not  in  the  nature  of  such 
an  instrument  per  se  to  anticipate  its  own  repeal 
or  dissolution. 

The  suggestion  to  "wait  for  an  overt  act,"  was 
answered  by  saying  that  the  Union  was  like  a 
business  copartnership  for  certain  purposes,  and 
when  one  member  of  the  firm  declares  his  pur- 
pose to  swindle  the  other  whenever  opportunity 
serves,  it  is  the  privilege,  the  right,  the  duty,  of 
the  partner  thus  placed  in  jeopardy  not  to  wait 
for  the  " overt  act"  of  swindling  to  transpire, 
but  to  forestall  and  prevent  it  by  breaking  up 
the  compact  at  once ;  that  the  Union  was  sub- 
stantially such  a  copartnership,  or  compact,  for 
purposes  of  mutual  aid,  and  for  mutual  protec- 
tion against  foreign  invasion. 

This  sort  of  argument  appeared  plausible, 
and  generally  had  the  effect  to  silence  dissenting 


ARGUMENTS  OF  SECESSION   IN  OUTLINE.     IO1 

parties.  The  reply  to  it  was  considered  insuf- 
ficient, that,  though  the  Republican  party  had 
succeeded  in  placing  Mr.  Lincoln  in  the  presi- 
dential chair,  yet  he  could  do  nothing  inimical 
to  the  rights  of  the  South.  His  oath  of  office 
would  deter  him,  even  if  personally  inclined  to 
damage  the  South,  and  though  he  had  said  in 
his  series  of  discussions  with  Stephen  A.  Doug- 
las, in  Illinois — "This  government  and  country 
can  not  remain  half  free  and  half  slave."  No, 
secession,  unconditional,  immediate,  bore  down 
all  opposition,  and  Texas  with  her  ship  of  state 
and  canvass  spread,  her  sails  flying,  and  the 
"Lone  Star"  floating  at  top-mast,  and  all  on 
board  except  a  few  stanch  Union  men,  stood 
out  for  the  deep  sea  of  secession  and  rebellion. 
She  foundered,  and  with  the  Confederate  armada 
of  States  went  to  the  bottom  ;  and  now  the  Union 
wreckers  are  trying  to  fish  her  up,  and  back  into 
place  again. 


102  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS. 


CHAPTER    XII. 

TEXAS   NEVER   INVADED. 

;NLIKE  the  other  Southern  States,  Te^s 
was  never  invaded  and  devastated  by  the 
Union  armies.  Considered  in  the  light  of 
a  necessary  evil,  as  a  terrible  educator,  or 
rough  civilizer  for  the  barbarian  element  in  Tex- 
as society,  it  might  have  been  a  good  thing,  per- 
haps, if  she  had  been  overrun,  and  this  low  ele- 
ment thoroughly  subjugated,  and  made  feel  and 
understand  that  there  was  another  force  in  the 
world  besides  Texas  outlawry — that  of  law  and 
order.  But  all  things  considered,  it  is  probably 
as  well  she  was  saved  from  such  a  scourging. 
The  innocent  would  have  suffered  with  the  guil- 
ty, and  many  lives  and  much  property  been  sac- 
rificed. 

Texas  was  never  whipped  in  spirit,  only  nomi- 
nally whipped,  in  being  surrendered  by  the  offi- 
cial act  of  General  E.  Kirby  Smith.  Like  "  dog 


FEELING   OF   THE   PEOPLE. 

Tray,"  she  was  found  in  bad  company.  Indeed, 
so  far  from  being  whipped  in  spirit  was  she,  that 
the  proposition  was  seriously  made  and  enter- 
tained, after  Lee's  surrender,  that  Texas  could 
carry  on  the  war  by  herself,  and  alone  win  what  A 
the  whole  South  had  failed  to  achieve  together. 
General  Magruder  issued  a  bombastic  proclama- 
tion to  this  effect.  But  the  more  sensible  people 
understood  it  as  a  shrewd  blind  on  his  part,  to 
facilitate  his  escape  to  Mexico,  which  he  made 
immediately  after. 

By  no  means  would  we  leave  the  impression 
that  the  whole  population  felt  this  way.  The 
intelligent  and  better  classes  plainly  saw,  and 
admitted  their  cause  was  irretrievably  lost,  and  in. 
justice  to  them  we  must  say  they  were  willing 
to  accept  the  situation  in  good  faith,  and  govern 
themselves  accordingly.  One.  of  this  class  said 
to  the  writer:  "I  have  fought  the  fight,  been 
whipped,  and  now  I  submit  and  say,  the  United 
States  Government  is  good  enough  for  me,  and 
hereafter  I  am  as  good  a  Union  man  as  the  best." 

But  we  must  say  of  the  other  class  that  swal- 
lowed Magruder's  proclamation,  that  they  did 
not  accept  the  situation  in  good  faith,  have  not 
yet,  and  never  will  so  long  as  they  can  keep  the 
waters  muddy.  For  the  benefit  of  this  class,  if 
they  could  have  suffered  alone,  one  could  have 


104  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

desired  Sherman's  or  Sheridan's  army  to  pass 
through  the  country  and  give  it  a  touch  of  de- 
vastation. You  wish  to  know  what  class  they 
were.  We  give  the  following  description :  They 
were  a  mixed  class  with  very  little  of  the  good 
in  the  mixture.  They  didn't  have  horns  on  their 
heads,  nor  were  they  cloven-footed  except  in 
character ;  and  in  this  respect  they  bore  strong 
resemblance  to  their  father,  the  old  "cloven- 
foot"  himself. 

The  masses  of  them  wore  spurs  on  their  heels, 
generally  the  immense  wheel-spur,  and  though 
they  were  not  born  with  them  on,  yet  they  might 
as  well  have  been,  for  they  not  only  rode  in 
them,  but  walked  in  them,  ate  in  them,  and  slept 
in  them.  Their  clanking  as  they  walked  was  like 
a  man  in  chains.  They  wore  belts  around  the 
waist,  suspending^  one  or  two  revolvers  and  a 
bowie  knife;  were  experts  in  the  saddle,  had  a 
reckless  dare-evil  look,  and  were  always  ready 
for  whisky  and  a  big  chew  of  tobacco,  and  the 
handwriting  of  passion  and  appetite  was  all  over 
them.  They  were  cow-boys  from  the  wild  woods 
and  prairies,  and  sons  of  the  low  class  planters, 
with  a  strong  sprinkling  of  the  low  white  trash, 
clay-eaters,  so  plentiful  in  the-Atlantic  Southern 
States. 

In  such  a  flock  the  one  that  has  killed  his 


FEELING  OF  THE  PEOPLE.        10$ 

man  or  more  is  hero  and  leader.  This  class  of 
desperadoes  were  tools  of  the  more  accomplish- 
ed, genteel,  oily-tongued,  respectable  scoundrels 
in  society,  who  sat  behind  the  screens  in  the 
green-room  of  iniquity,  and  were  the  wire-pull- 
ing prompters  of  crime — such  as  intimidation, 
robbery,  assassination,  and  so  on.  Especially  was 
this  the  case  during  the  war.  It  is  impossible 
to  understand,  without  experience,  the  situation 
of  unmitigated  horror  created  by  such  surround- 
ings. One  can  talk  or  write  about  it,  and  the 
hearer  or  reader  can  imagine,  but  experience 
alone  realizes  the  full  horror. 

We  have  said  that  Texas  was  never  invaded, 
but  she  was  pretty  thoroughly  blockaded  on  the 
coast;  and  artillery  duels  between  land  and  sea 
frequently  took  place,  but  seldom  *to  Confeder- 
ate disadvantage.  General  Hebert  was  first  in 
command  of  the  Department  of  Texas,  but  he 
proved  to  be  a  man  of  no  military  force  or  prac- 
tical genius,  though  a  West  Pointer,  and  had  en- 
joyed the  advantages  of  military  associations  in 
Europe,  the  reflex  of  which  appeared  rather 
to  damage  his  usefulness  than  otherwise.  He 
brought  with  him  so  much  European  red-tape- 
ism,  and  being  a  constitutional  ape,  that  he  pre- 
ferred red-top  boots,  and  a  greased  rat-tail  mous- 
tache, with  a  fine  equippage,  and  a  suite  of  wait- 


IO6  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

ers,  to  the  use  of  good,  practical  common  sense. 
Cannon,  heavy  siege  guns,  that  had  cost  weeks 
of  time,  and  thousands  of  money  to  transport 
from  Virginia  by  rivers,  through  floods,  storm 
and  mud,  lay  on  the  wharves  at  Galveston,  for 
months,  waiting  orders  from  the  commandant  to 
be  placed  in  position  on  the  fortifications  erected 
at  divers  points  on  the  island  beach.  Everybody 
became  tired  and  disgusted  with  the  General  and 
his  policy.  He  was  too  much  of  a  military  cox- 
comb to  suit  the  ideas  and  ways  of  a  pioneer 
country;  besides,  he  was  suspected  of  cowardice. 
In  May,  1862,  the  naval  fleet  outside  made 
a  demand  for  the  surrender  of  the  city,  giving 
four  days  for  a  decision.  The  demand  was  re- 
fused. It  was  believed,  of  course,  that  Hebert 
would  at  least  make  a  show  of  fight  for  the  repu- 
tation of  it,  if  for  nothing  more,  and  that  a  hand- 
some artillery  duel  might  be  expected  any  hour. 
This  expectation  was  strengthened  by  an  order 
for  all  non-combatants  to  leave  the  island  in  a 
given  time.  The  next  few  days  witnessed  a' 
general  stampede  of  people  and  valuables  up 
country,  the  writer  and  his  family  with  the  mul- 
titude, to  save  them  from  the  dangers  of  flying 
shot  and  shell.  Every  dray  and  available  ve- 
hicle was  brought  into  requisition  to  convey 
people  and  goods  away  from  the  city.  Any- 


CAPTURE  OF  GALVESTON.  IO/ 

thing  that  could  freight  a  thousand  pounds  or 
more,  could  easily  command  five  dollars  a  load, 
four  miles  to  the  bridge,  where  the  cars  stopped. 
It  was  hurrying  times.  _. 

On  the  fourth  or  fifth  day  a  gun-boat  ran  in 
and  opened  fire  on  "  Fort  Point,"  near  the  en- 
trance to  the  inside  harbor.  According  to  secret 
order,  previously  given,  the  fort  responded  with 
one  gun,  and  then  it  was  abandoned.  Mean- 
while the  General  and  staff,  with  most  of  the 
troops,  were  making  safe  retreat  to  Virginia  Point, 
four  miles  down  the  bay,  on  the  main  land 
side.  Thus  the  city  was  left  to  be  occupied  by 
the  Union  forces.  The  naval  fleet  entered  the 
bay  in  peaceful  triumph,  and  no  doubt  they  felt  a 
contempt  for  the  Confederate  General  in  com- 
mand, who  had  so  ignominiously  fled,  when 
they  looked  around  and  saw  the  facilities  he  had 
for  defense. 

The  intervening  space  between  city  and  rail- 
road bridge  was  neutral  ground,  not  occupied  by 
either  party.  Non-combatants  were  freely  allow- 
ed passes  to  and  from  the  city.  This  cowardly 
flight  so  incensed  the  people  against  Hebert, 
that  they  petitioned  for  his  removal,  and  it  was 
granted.  In  the  fall  of  1862  he  was  replaced  by 
General  Magruder — the  gay,  dashing,  and  fes- 
tive Magruder ;  and  this  suited  Texas.  But  Ma- 


IO8  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

gruder  soon  saw  that  Texas  expected  him  to  re- 
trieve the  disgraceful  loss  of  Galveston,  the  me- 
tropolis of  the  State. 

So  in  a  quiet  and  undemonstrative  way,  with- 
out giving  out  to  the  expectant  public  either 
time  or  mode,  he  prepared  to  recapture  the  Island 
City  and  the  fleet  in  her  bay,  of  which  the  cele- 
brated and  staunch  "Harriet  Lane"  was  the  flag- 
ship, and  stood  at  the  wharf  in  central  raking 
attitude  to  the  city. 

A  few  miles  below  the  city  of  Houston,  on 
Buffalo  Bayou,  at  a  point  of  narrows,  where  the 
huge  forest  trees  on  .either  bank  locked  arms 
across  the  waters,  and  the  shade  thereof  made 
still  deeper  by  the  mustang  vine,  and  the  ever 
creeping  old  ivy,  might  have  been  seen  three  or 
four  old  steamer  hulks  being  transformed  into 
rams  and  gun-boats,  whose  sides  were  barrica- 
ded with  compressed  cotton  bales.  And  this 
was  the  naval  force  with  which  to  attack  Uncle 
Sam's  heavy  iron-clads.  Magruder  had  called 
to  his  side  for  consultation,  upon  the  feasibility 
of  his  daring  enterprise,  his  predecessor  in  com- 
mand, who  laughed  him  to  scorn,  as  a  dreaming 
fanatic,  with  more  courage  than  brains.  But  not 
being  disheartened  by  Hebert's  wet  blanket,  he 
prosecuted  his  plans  and  purpose  to  complete- 
ness of  preparation.  Hebert  left,  and  went  to 


PREPARING  TO  RETAKE  GALVESTON.    IOQ 

some  private  retreat  up  country,  where  he  would 
not  be  considered  by  any  implication,  of  word  or 
circumstance,  to  be  partaker  in  so  wild  and 
reckless  a  scheme. 

Outside  it  was  not  yet  known  what  time  Ma- 
gruder  would  make  the  attack.  The  secret  was 
yet  in  his  own  breast,  or,  at  most,  was  confined 
to  himself  and  staff.  But  a  few  days  prior  to 
the  event,  it  was  rumored  that  Magruder  intend- 
ed making  the  State  a  new-year's  present.  So 
on  the  3  ist  day  of  December,  A.  D.  1862,  the 
fleet  weighed  anchor,  and  proceeded,  while  yet 
daylight  remained,  down  the  bayou  to  Red  Fish 
bar,  within  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  of  the  Federal 
fleet,  and  there  anchored  and  waited  till  the  dark 
hour  of  morning  should  come,  named  in  "spe- 
cial orders." 

The  ugly-looking  crafts  were  manned  by  vol- 
unteers for  the  occasion,  and  though  never  yet 
in  a  fight,  they  had  even  more  than  the  deter- 
mined spirit  of  the  "  veterans."  They  were  spoil- 
ing for  the  fray.  One  fear  only  served  to  damp- 
en their  ardor.  The  waters  might  be  flowing  at 
low  tide  on  Red  Fish  when  the  hour  came  to 
pass  it,  and  they  could  not  pass  it  before,  for  fear 
of  discovery  by  the  Federal  fleet,  to  whom  they 
intended  a  complete  surprise. 

The  land  forces  were  at  Virginia  Point,  ready 


IIO  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

to  cross  the  two-mile  bridge,  and  move  up  the 
island  toward  the  city.  Just  at  the  dying  of  the 
old  year,  and  the  birth  of  the  new,  the  two  forces 
began  to  move ;  the  one  by  water,  the  other  by 
land,  with  flying  artillery.  The  rolling  wheels 
were  muffled  in  the  sand,  and  with  silent  roll 
and  tread  they  moved  on,  and  took-well  chosen 
positions.  The  two  forces  were  to  co-operate. 
They  were  to  strike  together  at  the  moment 
when  the  moon  should  be  gone  to  rest,  which 
was  at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  land 
forces  were  there,  and  ready  to  open  fire  af  the 
time,  but  waited  till  a  few  minutes  after,  hoping 
to  hear  the  signal  gun  from  the  fleet  first.  But 
not  so ;  the  fleet  then  was  hanging  on  Red  Fish  in 
low  tide,  as  feared.  Fatal  detention,  if  not  soon 
released,  and  taking  part  in  the  action  now  pro- 
gressing. They  could  hear  the  booming  can- 
non miles  away,  and  in  panting  mood,  and  with 
desperate  effort,  they  float  once  more,  and  steam 
to  the  scene  of  action,  two  hours  late — but  "  bet- 
ter late  than  never."  Victory  was  trembling  in 
the  balance  between  the  contending  forces.  One 
ram  made  direct  for  the  "  Harriet  Lane,"  firing 
as  she  went,  and  struck  her  obliquely  on  the 
hind  quarter.  The  rigging  of  the  two  vessels 
became  tangled  together  so  that  they  could  not 
separate.  The  boarders  rushed  upon  the  deck 


GALVESTON   RETAKEN.  Ill 

of  the  "Harriet  Lane"  with  cutlasses,  knives, 
and  navy  shooters,  and  demanded  her  surrender. 
But  her  commander,  Captain  Wainwright,  re- 
fused. And  then  they  fought,  bravely  fought, 
hand  to  hand,  on  both  sides,  until  Wainwright 
fell,  shot  through  the  heart,  on  his  own  deckj 
saying  as  he  expired :  "  Tell  mother  I  defended 
the  ' Harriet'  as  long  as  I  could."  Sherman,  his 
first  lieutenant,  was  mortally  wounded.  By  this 
time  the  deck  was  running  with  blood  from  the 
dead  and  dying,  and  the  white  flag  was  run  up 
to  the  masthead,  and  the  whole  fleet  in  the  bay 
thereby  surrendered.  Meanwhile  one  of  the 
Confederate  gun-boats  had  sunk,  being  struck 
by  a  cannon-ball  below  water  mark.  One  of 
Magruder's  couriers  was  at  this  moment  carry- 
ing an  order  to  the  troops  to  cease  fighting  and 
retreat;  and  another  courier  rushed  to  head- 
quarters with  the  news  of  the  surrender,  and  the 
General  ordered  him  placed  under  arrest  for 
bringing  a  false  report.  But  he  was  soon  re- 
leased, for,  sure  enough,  it  was  8  o'clock,  the  vic- 
tory was  won,  and  the  "New-Year's  gift  was 
made." 

Touching  incidents  sometimes  occur  on  such 
occasions.  There  was  one  deeply  so, on  this  oc- 
casion. General  Sherman,  whose  history  ran 
back  to  the  stirring  times  of  the  Texas  Repub- 


112  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

lie,  was  in  command  of  the  Confederate  ram  that 
fought  the  '*  Harriet  Lane."  Lieutenant  Sher- 
man, just  fallen  on  her  deck,  was  his  son.  There 
„  they  had  met  in  deadly  strife,  father  and  son,  the 
latter  mortally  hurt,  and  life  fast  ebbing  away. 
But  they  did  not  recognize  each  other  till  the 
bloody  contest  was  over,  and  then,  at  the  mo- 
ment of  recognition,  the  son  exclaims  in  feeble 
tones:  "O,  is  that  you,  father?  and  have  we 
been  fighting  each  other  ?  The  day  is  lost,  and 
I  am  dying  now,  father!  Can  I  not  have  the 
holy  sacrament  to  my  comfort  before  I  die?" 
We  will  not  attempt  to  describe  the  agony  of 
that  father's  heart,  as  he  bent  to  embrace  his 
dying  boy,  and  to  say,  "Yes,,  my  son;  O,  my 
darling  son ! "  The  sacrament  was  given  and 
taken  together  by  living  father  and  dying  son, 
who  in  one  short  hour  afterward  as  each  said — 
"  Forgive  me,  father,"  and  "  Forgive  me,  my 
son" — breathed  his  life  out  sweetly,  lying  on 
his  father's  bosom.  The  next  day  a  solemn 
military  procession,  with  soft  and  reverent  tread, 
passed  to  the  cemetery,  where  the  father  him- 
self read  the  sublime  service  of  the  Episcopal 
Church — of  which  father  and  son  were  both 
members — over  his  boy's  grave.  Solemn  sa- 
lutes were  fired  in  honor  of  the  noble  dead. 
The  victory  and  the  defeat  were  alike  forgotten, 


VICTORY  AT  SABINE  PASS. 

and  regretted  for  the  day,  under  the  sublime 
touch  of  a  human  scene  so  tender,  so  grandly 
.holy !  We  know  the  father  well,  a  good  man, 
though  a  rebel. 

»  The  news  of  the  victory  passed  over  the  State 
with  an  electric  thrill,  and  gave  the  people  an  ele- 
vation of  spirits,  from  which  they  never  fully  came 
down,  even  at  the  close  of  the  war.  This,  with 
an  easy  victory  obtained  at  Sabine  Pass,  about 
the  same  time,  by  an  Irish  company  of  artillery 
in  fortifications,  by  which  a  fleet  was  repulsed, 
and  one  or  two  of  the  largest  vessels  disabled 
and  captured,  gave  Texas  somewhat  of  a  feeling 
of  invincibility. 

8 


114  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS.,, 


CHAPTER   XIII. 

NICARAGUA   SMITH. 

^E  next  day  after  the  retaking  of  Galves- 
ton,  another  sensation  occurred,  but  of  an 
entirely  different  character,  showing  other 
phases  of  human  nature,  and  developing  a 
different  class  of  feelings.  The  circumstances 
were  as  follows :  That  day  a  fleet  of  transports 
hove  in  sight  outside,  just  from  New  Orleans, 
bringing  fifteen  thousand  troops,  to  reinforce  the 
small  garrison  already  there — one  or  two  regi- 
ments. These  troops  belonged  to  General 
Banks'  Department,  and  were  sent  to  Galves- 
ton  to  commence  operations  on  a  larger  scale 
than  had  ever  been  attempted  before.  It  was  an 
earnest  purpose  and  part  of  a  general  plan  for 
the  subjugation  of  the  "  Lone  Star  "  State.  They 
were  to  make  Galveston  the  Gulf  base  of  opera- 
tions, and  penetrate  inland  to  Houston,  and  thus 
up  the  Texas  Central  Railroad  into  the  interior 
of  the  country,  forming  a  junction  with  the  ex- 


NICARAGUA  SMITH.    ,  11$ 

pedition  coming  in  from  the  Red  River  way,  in 
accordance  with  plans  traced  on  military  maps. 
This  would  create  a  diversion,  and  compel  the 
Texas  forces  to  remain  at  home,  and  not  be  sent 
to  fight  Banks'  main  expedition.  The  scheme 
was  doubtless  a  good  one  in  its  conception,  and 
looked  like  the  scheme  of  Grant  and  Sherman 
to  break  that  portion  of  the  Confederate  back- 
bone, lying  west  of  the  Mississippi.  More  than 
this,  it  was  a  part  of  the  grand  whole  devised 
by  them  for  crushing  every  part  of  the  monster 
east  and  west  of  the  Father  of  Waters. 

The  fleet  knew  nothing  of  the  retaking  of  Gal- 
veston  the  day  before.  So. they  sent  in  a  small 
craft  with  a  few  men,  to  herald  their  coming. 
The  forerunner  suspected  nothing  but  what  all 
was  right  till  they  reached  the  landing,  where 
they  were  taken  in  charge  by  Confederate  hands. 
The  pilot  proved  to  be  a  man  who  had  volun- 
f  teered  in  the  Confederate  army  at  the  opening  of 
the  war,  and  was  placed  on  sentinel  duty  at  Boli- 
var Point,  across  the  bay  from  Galveston,  and 
one  foggy  night  he  stole  a  boat  and  deserted  to 
the  fleet  outside,  some  months  before.  His  name 
was  Smith,  but  he  bore  the  significant  and  his- 
toric name  by  which  he  was  familiarly  known  on 
Galveston  Island,  of  "  Nicaragua"  Smith.  He 
had  been  with  Walker  in  his  filibustering  expe- 


Il6  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

dition  against  Nicaragua.  He  was  one  of  the 
worst  desperadoes  ever  known  in  all  that  coun- 
try, though  so  far  he  had  managed  to  escape  the 
hands  of  justice.  But  now,  at  last,  he  was 
caught  as  a  deserter,  and  acting  as  pilot  to  the 
enemy,  conducting  him  to  the  place  and  scenes 
he  was  so  familiar  with.  The  United  States 
flag  was  still  flying  on  the  Custom  House  in 
plain  view  of  the  fleet.  The  deception  at  first 
was  perfect,  and  the  Confederate  authorities 
hoped  to  play  the  game  out,  and  capture  the 
whole  fleet,  so  they  sent  out  true  and  trusty 
men  in  Federal  uniform  and  equippage,  to  in- 
vite and  conduct  them  in.  But  something  raised 
suspicion — the  want  of  proper  salutes  and  sig- 
nals, also  credentials  from  the  Commodore  of 
the  "Harriet  Lane"  fleet,  now  captured.  The 
Commodore  was  blown  up  in  an  attempt  to 
blow  up  one  of  the  vessels  after  the  surrender, 
and  which  was  contrary  to  the  usages  of  war. 
On  being  questioned  at  the  flag  ship,  suspi- 
cion was  confirmed.  The  leader  in  charge  was 
detained  as  an  exchange  host  for  Nicaragua 
Smith.  The  exchange  never  came.  Smith  was 
court-martialed,  found  guilty  of  inexcusable  de- 
sertion, and  sentenced  to  be  shot  to  death  the  \ 
next  day.  When  standing  in  front  of  the  twelve  ] 
messengers  of  death,  the  lieutenant  having  ' 


NICARAGUA  SMITH.  117 

charge  of  the  execution  of  the  death  sentence, 
advanced  to  him,  and  asked  if  he  had  any  last 
word'or  message  he  desired  to  leave.  He  said 
"  Yes,"  and  gave  it,  but  the  character  of  it  for- 
bids its  mention  here.  He  .died  as  he  had  lived, 
with  unmentionable  wickedness  on  his  lips — a 
sad  spectacle  of  depravity,  unwept  and  unre- 
gretted  by  all ! 

The  fleet  steamed  and  sailed  away,  disappoint- 
ed and  defeated  in  the  object  of  their  coming. 
Banks  was  moving  up  the  Red  River  Valley, 
with  heavy  land  forces,  supported  by  gun-boats, 
and  Steele  down  through  Arkansas,  to  a  junc- 
tion with  him  at  Shreveport.  But  Texas,  now 
relieved  by  the  change  of  situation  at  Galveston, 
could  spare  their  forces  and  send  them  to  the 
front  against  Banks  and  Steele.  They  met  them 
in  detail,  before  the  junction  of  the  two  lines, 
and  both  were  defeated,  and  made  disastrous 
retreats.  Everything  so  far  under  Magruder 
seemed  to  favor  the  fortunes  of  Texas  arms,  and 
the  prestige  thereof  by  this  time  had  become 
immense,  particularly  at  home. 


118  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 


CHAPTER    XIV. 

THE  CAPTURED  LETTER. — MRS.  E.'s  EXILE. 

after  these  several  triumphs  of  Texas 
arms,  a  vessel  was  shipwrecked  on  the  Gulf, 
and  among  the  debris  that  washed  upon  the 
coast,  a  U.  S.  mail  bag  was  picked  up  by 
the  soldiers  on  duty  there  and  forwarded  to 
headquarters.  It  contained  a  large  amount  of 
letter  mail,  going  North  from  Texas.  The  let- 
ters were  written  in  part  by  Texans,  who  had 
fled  the  country  to  Mexico  on  account  of  pro- 
scription for  Union  sentiments,  and  to  avoid 
conscription,  with  other  reasons.  And  many 
were  written  by  those  still  remaining  in  the 
country. 

The  accident  furnished  an  opportunity  for 
the  military  authorities  to  discover  who  might 
be  traitors  in  their  midst.  The  contents  of  the 
letters  were  carefully  examined,  and  indicated 
that  some  of  the  writers  entertained  sentiments 


THE  CAPTURED   LETTER. 

more  or  less  treasonable  to  the  Southern  cause. 
Among  the  writers  of  this  class  was  a  Mrs.  E., 
living  a  hundred  miles  from  the  coast,  on  the 
Texas  Central  Railroad.  She  had  emigrated 
years  before  from  the  central  part  of  the  Old 
Empire  State  of  the  North.  She  was  a  lady  of 
a  decidedly  literary  turn  of  mind,  and  this  fact 
was  strongly  marked  in  the  literary  tone  of  the 
contraband  letter  that  had,  by  unforeseen  acci- 
dent, fallen  into  military  hands.  It  read,  in  part, 
as  quoted  below: 

"Dear  Mother:  It  is  a  long  time  since  com- 
munication was  broken  off  between  us.  It  seems 
an  age.  I  am  tired  of  it,  and  would  that  the 
unnatural  struggle  were  over.  But  how  and 
when,  God  only  knows!  I  am  living  under  a 
reign  of  terror,  where  dissembling  is  an  art, 
and  must  be  practiced,  though  self-bemeaning 
to  an  honest  mind.  The  crushing  incubus  is 
upon  us,  and  must  be  borne  as  best  it  can  be. 
It  would  be  comparatively  easy  to  float  with  the 
current  here  if  one's  sympathies  were  with  it. 
But  dare  I  say  it  (?),  mine  are  not.  May  the 
gods,  in'  their  own  quick  time,  relieve  the  ter- 
rible suspense,  and  give  victory  to  the  '  Stars 
and  Stripes.'" 

Thus  wrote  one  of  the  most  talented  ladies  in 
.Texas.     She  was  a  lady  of  medium  hight.and 


I2O  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

size,  delicately  organized,  sensitive  temperament, 
brunette  complexion,  and  a  dark  full  swimming 
eye — a  gazelle-eyed  Juno.  Unlike  some  literary 
members  of  the  sex,  she  was  a  very  queen  of 
domestic  neatness,  thrift  and  joy,  as  well  as  a 
happy  companion  of  books.  More  than  this, 
she  was  by  no  means  a  literary  or  domestic  re- 
cluse, but  her  large  heart  sent  out  its  tendrils 
for  the  dews  of  neighborhood  life,  and  gave  out 
the  sweet  waters  of  friendship  to  such  as  should 
themselves  be  friendly.  The  beautiful  climax  of 
her  character  was  in  giving  joy  to  others.  She 
was  most  happy  when  making  others  so.  With- 
out guile  herself,  she  never  looked  for  it  in  other 
people.  Yet  this  beauty  of  her  character — an 
ingenuous  frankness  of  heart  and  manner — some- 
times inspired  envy  and  jealousy  in  those  who 
were  her  personal  and  social  antipodes. 

In  literary  matters,  the  poets  were  as  familiar 
to  her  as  household  words.  But  she  paid  trib- 
ute not  to  literature  alone,  but  ventured  into  the 
deep  waters  of  such  authors  as  Hugh  Miller  on 
Geology,  Humboldt's  Cosmos,  and  was  able  to 
digest  metaphysics,  theology,  etc.  And  if,  in 
the  midst  of  it  all,  household  cares  included, 
exhausted  in  mental  and  physical  strength,  a 
little  negro  boy  should  come  and  say,  "  Please 
ma'm,  here  is  some  cloth,  and  mother  is  sick, 


MRS.    E/S   ARREST.  121 

and  wants  you  to  cut  me  a  coat;  she  says  you 
are  so  good  you  will  do  it,"  she  will  take  the 
cloth,  and  cut  and  baste  by  the  hour,  and  then 
send  the  little  black  home  so  glad. 

In  prose  she  writes  heavy  or  light,  and  her 
muse  sparkles  with  beautiful  poetry.  She  is 
now,  and  has  been  since  the  war,  a  correspond- 
ent of  first-class  periodicals,  weekly  and  month- 
ly, at  home  and  abroad,  and  is  a  leading  poetess 
of  the  "  Lone  Star  State." 

One  morning  the  door-bell  rang  at  her  house. 
Mrs.  E.  answered  the  summons  in  person,  and 
on  opening  the  door  there  stood  a  tall,  hand- 
some gentleman,  in  military  costume.  Each 
said  "  good-morning,"  and  bowed  the  stanger's 
bow. 

"Is  Mrs.  E.  at  home?"  he  inquired. 

"  She  is,"  replied  that  lady. 

"  Have  I  the  pleasure  of  addressing  that  lady 
now  ?"  said  the  officer. 

"  I  am  Mrs.  E.  Will  you  come  in,  Sir?"  said 
she,  in  a  dignified  tone. 

"  I  thank  you,  Madam,  I  will,  if  you  please," 
and  stepping  in,  he  was  seated  on  the  sofa. 

"  Let  me  take  your  cap,  Sir,"  said  the  lady, 
reaching  out  her  hand  to  relieve  him  of  that 
gold-braided  and  spangled  ornament. 

"  No,  I  thank  you,  Madam,  I  am  in  a  hurry, 


122  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

and  am  under  orders  in  calling  on  you  this 
morning  so  unceremoniously,  without  previous 
announcement  by  card  or  courier,"  said  the 
military  gent,  with  the  feeling  that  he  was  in 
the  presence  of  superior  intelligence  and  worth. 
At  this  moment  he  felt  that  it  would  be  a 
gracious  relief  if  he  could .  be  spared  the  cha- 
grin of  serving  a  military  summons  upon  the 
fair  lady,  for  whom  he  confessed  himself  inspired 
with  unusual  respect,  though  never  having  met 
her  before.  He  treated  her,  in  words  and  man- 
ner, with  genuine  politeness,  and  no  gentleman 
could  have  done  otherwise. 

"  May  I  inquire,  Sir,  speaking  of  being  under 
orders,  what  your  orders  are?"  said  Mrs.  E., 
with  evident  surprise  at  the  officer's  hint. 

This  interrogatory  of  the  lady  had  the  effect 
of  producing  a  grip  of  Mars  at  his  throat,  while 
Cupid's  arrow  struck  his  heart,  and  the  lady,  all 
unconscious  of  his  struggle  between  the  two 
deities,  waited  his  reply.  At  last  regaining  his 
speech,  and  having  studied  well  the  language  in 
which  he  would  make  his  errand  known,  with 
the  least  possible  shock  to  Mrs.  E.'s  sensibili- 
ties, he  proceeded  to  say-: 

"  My  dear  lady,  it  becomes  my  very  unpleas- 
ant duty,  under  imperative  orders,  to  request 
you  to  accompany  me  to  headquarters,  at  Hous- 


MRS.  E.'S   ARREST.  123 

tort-,  where  General  M.,  the  Commander  of  the 
Department  of  Texas,  will  make  known  to  you 
the  reasons  of  this  summons." 

"  A  request  for  me  to  appear  at  military  head- 
quarters, before  the  Department  General — for 
vie,  a  lady !  and  may  I  know  what  for  ?  Strange 
Order  from  the  General  to  a  lady !  What  can 
it  mean,  and  will  you,  if  at  liberty,  explain 
how,  and  why  it  is,  that  a  humble  lady  like 
myself  has  so  suddenly  reached  such  a  de- 
gree of  importance  with  the  military  headship 
of  the  land  ?" 

"As  I  said  before,  he  will  disclose' to  you  the 
reasons  for  this  summons,  Madame,"  said  the 
officer.  "  It  is  a  very  unpleasant  matter  to  me, 
and  the  more  so,  as  I  perceive  you  are  a  lady  of 
unusual  refinement,  appearance  and  manners." 

"  I  suppose,  then,  the  summons  is  imperative 
and  I  must  go  ?"  said  the  lady  again. 

"  Madam,  I  do  not  clothe  my  orders  in  such 
abrupt  language,  but  feel  bound  to  treat  you  in 
every  respect  as  a  gentleman  should  a  lady,  or," 
hesitatingly,  "  as  if  I  were  an  old  and  accepted 
friend,  paying  court  to  your  ladyship,"  said  the 
man  under  authority,  not  from  the  war  deity 
alone,  for  the  last  words  were  on  the  indictment 
of  the  little-winged  god. 

A  lovely  carnation  blush  overspread  the  bru- 


124  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

nctte  cheeks  of  Mrs.  E.,  and  reflected  back  the 
sentiment,  in  wordless  pleasure.  Just  then  the 
gallant  gentleman  relieved  her  momentary  em- 
barrassment, by  pleasantly  inquiring:  "How 
soon,  Mrs.  E.,  may  I  expect  the  pleasure  of  your 
company  by  railroad  to  Houston,  The  next 
train  will  be  here  in  two  hours.  Can  you  be 
ready  in  that  time?" 

She  assured  him  that  she  could.  "  You  will 
then  excuse  me,  Madam,  from  taxing  your  time 
further,  and  I  will  return  to  the  depot,  and  there 
wait  your  coming  at  the  hour."  So  saying,  the 
officer  retired.  On  reaching  the  depot,  he  saw 
the  two  soldiers  he  had  brought  with  him,  armed 
with  bayonets,  and  supplied  with  handcuffs,  in 
anticipation  of  arresting  some  female  outlaw, 
but  now  would  part  with  the  world,  if  his  to 
give,  sooner  than  Mrs.  E.  should  know  of  his 
bayonet  companions,  and  the  other  prepara- 
tions for  depriving  her  of  physical  freedom, 
lie  ordered  the  soldiers  to  keep  out  of  sight 
at  the  depot,  and  give  him  no  word  or  look  of 
recognition  on  the  train  in  the  lady's  presence. 
At  first  they  did  not  exactly  understand  the 
secret  of  such  instructions,  but  asked  no  expla- 
nations, though  they  wanted  to  ask,  and  the 
officer  did  not  condescend  to  enlighten  them. 


MRS.    E/S   ARREST.  125 

so  they  were  left  to  their  wits  to  divine  the 
mystery. 

But,  meanwhile,  what  had  been  going  on  at 
the  house  of  Mrs.  E.  ?  During  the  interview 
between  her  and  the  officer  no  member  of  the 
household  had  intruded  into  the  room  where 
they  were,  but  as  he  retired  she  lost  no  time 
in  acquainting  the  family  circle  with  what  had 
happened.  That  is,  she  told  them  that  she  had 
to  report  herself  at  military  headquarters ;  and 
described  the  good-looking  and  polite  gentle- 
man who  had  served  the  summons,  but  said 
never  a  word  of  the  little  brush  of  romance 
from  Cupid's  wings. 

"But  what  does  it  mean?"  said  one  and 
another,  and  still  another. 

"  I  don't  know,"  said  she,  "  but  I  am  going  to 
see.  The  officer  is  a  true  gentleman,  I  am  satis- 
fied, and  no  harm  will  befall  me  in  his  hands. 
Besides,  he  will  not  only  give  me  a  safe  conduct, 
but  will  regard  the  feelings  of  a  lady,  and  make 
it  sub  rosa.  And  now  let  me  say,  dear  ones, 
that  whatever  developments  may  occur,  you 
shall  be  duly  informed,  and  I  don't  feel  that  we 
need  fear  serious  harm." 

Then  she  retired  to  make  her  toilet,  and  a  few 
minutes  before  train  time  she  was  on  the  plat- 
form in  a  modest  but  bewitching  attire.  The 


126  ^IVE   YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

officer  gave  one  glance,  that  was  all — a  stranger 
would  have  given  two  or  three — and,  turning 
away,  felt  a  soft  sensation  in  his  left  side.  He 
tried  to  appear  like  a  stranger,  with  no  interest 
in  the  lady,  who  now  stood  looking  up  the  road 
for  the  train.  She  had  divined  and  appreciated 
the  public  reserve  of  her  military  escort  dis- 
played at  that  delicate  moment. 

Soon  the  whistle  blew,  and  the  train  was  in 
sight.  Just  then  the  officer  passed  her  and 
said,  "  Select  a  seat  in  the  rear  car,  and  I  will 
come  to  you."  The  train  moved  up,  bringing 
that  car  at  her  side.  She  entered  by  the  front 
platform,  he  by  the  rear.  They  met  at  the 
center,  and  found  one  seat  fully  vacant  only. 
He  motioned  her  in,  and  she  did  not  object 
to  the  stranger's  occupying  the  seat  with  her. 
Train  is  off,  and  the  noise  of  rumbling  wheels 
soon  drowns  conversation  to  all  but  the  mutual 
talkers  themselves.  What,  with  the  hope  that 
nothing  serious  is  to  befall  her  at  headquarters — 
as  her  conscience  tells  of  no  crime  against  mili- 
tary or  civil  order — and  the  new  found  pleasure 
of  company  so  congenial,  she  almost  forgets  the 
relation  of  officer  and  prisoner.  The  trip  of 
fifty  miles  seems  less  than  an  hour,  as  the  train 
enters  the  city  of  destination. 

The  officer  and  his  fair  prisoner  are  seated  in 


MRS,    F/S   ARREST.  I2/ 

an  omnibus,  and  driven  to — not  headquarters, 
nor  the  common  jail,  nor  guard-house,  but  to 

the House,  the  best  in  the  city,  and  there 

Mrs.  E.  is  imprisoned  in  a  nicely  furnished 
room  for  the  night.  The  officer  retires  after 
ordering  all  her  wants  supplied,  even  to  a  special 
waiting-maid,  saying  as  he  goes :  "  Mrs.  E.,  I 
will  call  in  the  morning  with  further  orders.  I 
hope  you  will  rest  well,  and  not  have  unpleasant 
dreams." 

That  night  no  bayonet  paced  the  hall  by  her 
room  to  prevent  the  prisoner's  escape.  No,  her 
honor,  better  felt  than  told,  stood  sentinel  at  her 
door !  The  next  morning  a  gentle  rap  an- 
nounced the  officer's  presence,  and  on  open- 
ing the  door  he  gave  her  a  pleasant  smile,  with 
a  cordial  "  good-morning."  She  looked  a  little 
pale,  as  if  she  might  not  have  rested  well  the 
entire  night,  which  induced  him  to  ask:  "Are 
you  quite  well  this  morning,  Mrs.  E.?  You  are 
looking  a  little  pale."  On  assuring  him  that  she 
was,  he  notified  her  that  he  was  now  ready,  if 
she  were  agreed,  to.  escort  her  to  the  presence 
of  his  dignity,  General  M.,  at  his  private  quar- 
ters. 

"  Certainly,  Sir,  I  am  ready  and  anxious,  as 
well  as  curious,  to  know  the  meaning  of  this 
strange  proceeding.  Is  it  far,  Sir?'' 


128  FIVE   YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

"  No,  it  is  not  very  far,  Madam,  but  no  matter 
about  the  distance,  as  there  is  a  carriage  at  the 
door  waiting  to  convey  us  thither." 

"O,  there  is;  but  this  treatment  seems  too 
kind  and  generous  .  toward  your  prisoner.  I 
could  have  walked  as  well,  Sir,"  said  Mrs.  E., 
while  a  tear  came  into  her  eye,  which,  turning 
her  head  aside,  she  tried  to  hide  from  his  View, 
but  which  he  saw,  and  treasured  in  the  heart  of 
his  recollection. 

Taking  his  arm  they  descended  the  stairway, 
and  proceeding  through  the  hall  to  the  front 
door  they  entered  a  close  carriage,  and  were 
driven  away  without  meeting  the  stare  of  listless 
spectators.  On  reaching  the  General's  quarters 
she  was  ushered  into  his  presence  with  military 
salutations  from  the  subordinate  to  his  superior 
officer.  "  I  have  the  honor,  General,  of  return- 
ing the  process  served,  and  the  prisoner,  Mrs. 
E.,  is  before  you,  whom  I  now  introduce  to 
you,"  said  the  sub-officer.  She  bowed  genteelly 
to  the  General,  which  brought  the  military  bluff 
to  his  feet,  and  to  make  his  politest  reply,  which 
would  be  awkward  in  most  gentlemen.  He 
asked  her  to  be  seated,  ordering  a  chair.  Then 
reseating  himself  in  his  big  swivel  chair,  and 
facing  the  lady,  he  proceeded  to  say : 

"  Mrs.  E.,  I  suppose  you  would  first  like  to  be 


MRS.    E/S  ARREST.  I2Q 

informed  as  to  the  reasons  for  this  summary 
proceeding  against  you ;  and  though,  as  De- 
partment Commander,  I  am  not  required  by 
military  law  or  usage  to  allege  the  cause  of 
action,  yet,  in  this  case,  and  because  I  am  deal- 
ing with  a  lady,  who  though  a  stranger  to  me, 
I  perceive  to  be  intelligent  and  genteel,  I  will 
assign  to  you  the  reason  for  this  peremptory 
summons.  A  letter,  purporting  on  its  face,  to 
have  been  written  by  yourself,  or  some  one 
bearing  your  name,  by  the  accidents  of  war  and 
providential  direction,  has  fallen  into  my  hands, 
and  a  portion  of  its  contents  proves  to  be  treas- 
onable to  the  Confederacy."  Here  handing  her 
the  letter,  he  inquired : 

"  Mrs.  E.,  do  you  recognize  the  letter  as 
yours?" 

"  I  do,"  was  the  brief  response. 

"And  those  are  your  sentiments,  as  therein 
expressed,  toward  our  cause,  Madam?"  again 
said  the  General. 

"  The  letter  reads  so,  General,  and  it  would  be 
cowardly  in  me  to  deny,  now  under  fear,  what  I 
then  said  without  fear.  I  was  frank  then,  and 
will  not  be  less  so  now.  Those  were,  and  are, 
my  sentiments;  though  little  did  I  think,  or 
intend  harm,  by  the  letter,  to  the  Confederacy 
when  writing  it,  and  in  forwarding  it  to  friends 
9 


I3O  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

in  the  North ;  as  it  was  strictly  a  private  letter 
to  private  friends,  disconnected  with  any  motive 
to  inflict  injury  upon  the  country.  Nor  can  I 
see  or  feel  that  the  offense  is  a  penal  one  in  any 
sense,  so  long  as  I  am  found  guilty  of  neither 
constructive  nor  actual  treason,  by  aiding  or 
abetting  the  enemy,  furnishing  him  material  aid 
or  contraband  information,  nor  of  the  possession 
of  treasonable  motives,  expressed  or  implied, 
waiting  the  opportune  moment  to  display  them- 
selves, or  something  more  than  mere  feelings 
or  convictions,  which  are  certainly  involuntary 
things,  and  hence  without  responsibility.  Feel- 
ings and  convictions,  permit  me  to  suggest, 
General,  are  like  birds  flying  over  one's  head, 
for  which  one  is  not  responsible.  One  is  only 
responsible  for  willful  action,  in  obedience  to 
these  feelings  and  convictions.  I  will  not  urge, 
General,  the  further  consideration,  that  your 
prisoner  is  a  woman,  without  pretension,  whose 
sphere  of  action  is  confined  exclusively  to  the 
domestic  circle,  including  some  little  experience 
in  literary  matters.  But  of  all  this  you  must 
and  will  be  the  judge,  of  course,  and  I  must 
submit  to  your  judgment  and  consequent  orders 
in  the  premises,  but  I  would  respectfully  beg  to 
be  spared  from  sustaining  damages,  either  cor- 
poral or  incorporal,  on  the  plain  principle  of 


MRS.  E.'S  ARREST.  13! 

justice,  that  where  one  has  neither  done  nor 
intended  damage  to  others,  he  should  not  be 
damaged  himself." 

The  General  replied,  though  not  without  some 
misgiving:  "My  dear  Madam,  you  defend 
yourself  capitally  well,  and  I  perceive  you  are 
not  only  an  intelligent  lady,  and  hence,  on  this 
score,  we  fear  you  in  our  cause  all  the  more,  if 
disposed  on  seeming  occasion,  to  do  damage, 
which  is  liable  to  come  at  any  time  by  the  acci- 
dents of  war,  but  I  feel  bound  to  say  that  I 
believe  that  you  are  a  well-meaning  lady,  though 
not  patriotic  toward  the  country  of  your  adop- 
tion. But,  Madam,  occupying  the  responsible 
position  I  do,  I  am  bound  to  discard  personal 
feeling,  and  take  notice  of  facts,  both  actual  and 
possible,  and  not  be  a  respecter  of  persons,  but 
have  my  country's  weal  and  prosperity  before 
me,  and  remove  with  scrupulous  care  all  obsta- 
cles thereto,  even  the  least. 

"As  you  say  your  case  is  not  criminal  in  any 
important  sense,  but  imprudent,  inexpedient, 
unfortunate,  the  least  I  can  do  is  to  remove 
you  beyond  our  lines  till  after  the  war.  And  as 
most  convenient  to  us,  and  probably  preferable 
to  you,  I  will  order  you,  by  military  escort,  to 
Matamoras,  in  Mexico,  across  the  Rio  Grande. 
And  I  detail  Lieutenant  H.  here,  the  officer  who 


132  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

placed  you  under  arrest,  and  brought  you  to 
these  headquarters,  to  command  the  escort,  and 
see  the  order  of  exile  carried  out.  You  can 
now  return  home  on  your  parole  of  honor,  and 
there  await  further  orders."  - 

To  a  lady  of  her  style  and  sensibilities  such 
a  proceeding  would  be  shocking,  but  Mrs.  E. 
bore  up  under  it  well.  She  retired  from  the 
General's  presence,  with  the  pointed  remark, 
addressed  to  him :  '•  Well,  General,  if  I  under- 
stand the  situation  then,  you  exile  me,  not  so 
much  for  what  I  have  done,  as  for  what  I  might 
do?" 

"Your  case  is  disposed  of,  Madam.  I  have 
nothing  further  to  say;  and  you  are  too  much  of 
a  lady  to  bandy  words  with,"  replied  the  Gen- 
eral. 

She  was  driven  to  the  cars  as  she  had  come, 
in  company  with  Lieutenant  H.,  who  saw  her 
safe  on  board,  and  as  the  train  moved  off,  he 
pressed  her  hand,  and  said  warmly,  "  Good-by. 
God  bless  you  ;  be  of  good  cheer;  in  a  few  days, 
two  or  three,  you  will  see  me  again,  and — "  he 
left  the  sentence  unfinished,  as  the  train  was  get- 
ting fast,  and  leaped  from  the  platform. 

At  the  hour  of  12  M.  she  was  at  home  again. 
"  In  a  few  days,  two  or  three,"  she  said  to  the 
family,  "  I  am  off  for  the  sunset  side  of  the  Rio 


MRS.   E.'S  ARREST.  '133 

Grande  to  Matamoros.  This  is  the  order  of 
the  General,  and  to  remain  there,  or  outside  the 
lines,  till  the  *  cruel  war  is  over.' 

"And  now,  Lew,  I  want  you  and  your  sister 
Emma  to  accompany  me  with  the  ambulance 
and  the  nice  white  carriage  mules,  and  be  my 
companions  in  exile.  Do,  my  dears,  and  don't 
say  no,  for  how  can  I  go  alone,  and  leave  my 
adopted  darling  brother  and  sister.  We  can  do 
something  for  a  livelihood  if  the  purse  gets  low, 
and  we'll  fill  it  as  we  go." 

"But,  dear  Mrs.  E.,  you  have  not  told  us 
yet  why  you  are  ordered  into  exile.  Have  you 
been  committing  some  enormous  crime  that 
deserves  the  punishment  of  expatriation  ?  Tell 
us,  for  it  may  be  that  we  may  meet  the  fate  of 
poor  '  Dog  Tray/  being  found  in  bad  company, 
which  might  not  be  quite  so  pleasant  after  all." 

Thus  responded,  archly,  Lewis   and    Emma. 

"Sure  enough.  Pardon  me,  dears,  my  mind 
had  become  so  absorbed  with  results  that  I  had 
become  oblivious  of  the  cause.  Ah  !  why  so,  not 
demented  am  I !  and  yet  with  all  my  effort  at 
self-control,  there  is,  I  feel,  a  terrible  strain  on 
my  nerves.  But  the  cause,  what  do  you  sup- 
pose it  is?  I  will  tell  you.  Do  you  remember 
that  letter  I  wrote  to  my  dear  old  mother  two 
months  ago,  dying,  no  doubt,  with  the  heart- 


134  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

ache  for  her  child  in  this  far-off  country,  and  in 
these  troublous  times?  You  do.  Well,  by  a 
strange  ordering  of  the  fates  that  letter  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  military.  I  see  you  wonder 
how.  It  was  on  this  wise :  The  vessel  carry- 
ing the  mail  was  shipwrecked  on  the  Gulf,  and 
among  the  things  carried  ashore  by  the  tide- 
waters, near  Sabine  Pass,  was  the  mail-bag  con- 
taining the  fatal  letter,  and  was  picked  up  by 
the  soldiers  on  duty  there,  and  forwarded  to 
headquarters.  And  now  that  is  how  the  situa- 
tion is,  and  the  procuring  cause  of  my  being  in 
military  limbo." 

"And  is  that  all — is  that  the  head  and  front 
of  your  offending?"  exclaimed  the  brother  and 
sister,  and  then  added,  "If  that  be  all,  we  are 
not  only  ready  to  go  with  you  into  exile,  but  if 
need  be  to  the  ends  of  the  earth.  Yes,  we'll 
go,  dear  Mrs.  E.;  we'll  go,  and  glad  of  an  oppor- 
tunity for  voluntary  exile  from  a  country  so 
mean,  and  with  one  so  dear." 

"  Hush,  my  dears ;  give  utterance  only  to  such 
feelings  when  we  are  safe  beyond  the  lines. 
Now  we  understand  each  other,  let  us  to  the 
work  of  preparation  for  the  journey  of  four  hun- 
dred miles.  Lew  will  look  after  the  mules  and 
ambulance.  The  ambulance  will  need  two  good 
seats,  and  room  inside,  and  a  rack  behind  for 


'35 

provisions  and  trunks.  And  you  and  I,  Emma, 
will  see  the  trunks  well  filled  with  clothing  for 
all  around,  and  other  things  that  may  come  in 
play.  You  know  we  shall  be  obliged  to  camp 
out  the  whole  way  through,  as  there  are  no  v 
places  of  entertainment  in  that  wild  country. 
The  wolves  will  nightly  give  us  howling  sere- 
nades around  our  camp-fires.  But  the  escort 
will  afford  us  ample  protection  against  four-leg- 
ged wolves,  and  wolves  bipedal." 

The  next  two  days  were  busy  ones  of  prepa- 
ration, interspersed  with  brief  respites,  occasions 
for  interesting  chats  and  consultations  on  the 
novel  trip  before  them,  in  which  the  ever-recur- 
ring how,  when,  where,  and  wherefore,  were 
thoroughly  canvassed  and  disposed  of  each  time 
as  well  as  mortals  with  only  mortal  ken  could 
dispose  of  such  things  yet  in  the  untried  future. 
At  last,  when  the  clock  said  ten,  the  second 
night,  the  trunk  lids  were  pressed  down  to  their 
places,  locked  and  strapped,  and  Mrs.  E.  wea- 
ried, and  half-falling  into  a  big  arm-chair,  ex- 
claimed, "There,  Lieutenant  H.,  you  may  come 
as  quick  as  you  please,  we  are  ready." 

Just  then  the  door-bell  rang.    "  Why,  who's 
that,"  said  Mrs.  E.,  in  a  half-startled,  but  sup-  ' 
pressed  tone ;  but  a  little  bird  told  her  it  was 
the  Lieutenant     Miss  Emma  approached  and 


136  FIVE   YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

opened  the  door,  and  sure  enough  it  was  he. 

"Is  Mrs.  E.  in?"  inquired  he. 

"  She  is,"  replied  Emma;  "please  step  in,  Sir/' 

"  Good  evening,  Mrs.  E.,"  was  his  salutation 
to  that  lady.  She  replied,  and  rising  and  meeting 
him  they  shook  hands  warmly. 

He  remarked,  apologetically,  "  It  is  a  late 
hour  to  call,  but  I  know  you  will  excuse  me, 
Madam.  I  am  stopping  at  the  hotel  in  town,  and 
just  came  to  know  if  you  were  ready  to  begin 
the  pleasant  journey  in  the  morning/'  at  the 
same  time  glancing  at  Lew  and  Emma,  to  see 
if  they  appeared  to  comprehend  the  situation. 

"  We  are  ready,  I  thank  you,  Lieutenant,  and 
only  wait  'further  orders/  having  just  this  mo- 
ment, before  you  came,  strapped  our  trunks." 

The  Lieutenant  looked  surprised  at  the  plu- 
ral, "  we  are  ready/1  and  gave  another  glance  at 
the  brother  and  sister,  and  then  at  the  two  big 
trunks,  and  had  parted  his  lips  to  speak,  when 
Mrs.  E.  interrupted  him  with,  "Yes,  we-  are 
ready — these,  my  darling  friends,  my  children 
almost,  are  going  with  me  to  be  my  companions 
in  exile ;  and  we  are  going  in  our  own  convey- 
ance, and  have  just  one  vacant  seat  for  you,  Lieu- 
tenant, and  we  all  cordially  invite  you  to  occupy 
it,  and  travel  with  us.  And  whatever  military 
cavalcade  is  to  accompany  us,  let  them  travel 


137 

by  themselves  and  be  our  John  Baptist.  What 
say  you,  Sir,  to  this  ?" 

"  Well  now,  really,  Mrs.  E.,  this  is  quite  un- 
expected, and  as  I  can  have  no  objection,  cer- 
tainly, to  the  surprise  plan,  for  which  you  alone 
are  responsible,  I  can  not  refuse  your  kind  invi- 
tation to  make  one  of  the  number  of  so  pleasant 
a  traveling  quartette.  So  being  ready,  I  re- 
spectfully suggest  the  hour  of  eight  in  the 
morning  as  the  time  for  starting.  My  requisi- 
tion on  the  Commander  of  the  post  here,  for  six 
men  and  two  four-mule  teams  and  ambulances 
with  drivers,  has  been  rilled,  but  it  can  remain 
so,  and  I  will  order  them  out  an  hour  ahead  of 
us,  and  we  four  will  leave  together,  in  a  quiet 
way,  not  exciting  public  curiosity.  And  now, 
good-night  all,  I  will  be  here  at  eight,  sharp." 

"  What  do  you  think  of  him,  Miss  Emma, 
and  how  will  we  be  likely  to  fare  in  his  charge  ?" 
said  Mrs.  E.  after  he  had  gone. 

"What  do  I  think  of  him?  you  ask.  To 
speak,  frankly,  I  think  he  is  a  nice  gentleman, 
and  will  do  to  travel  with,  either  with  or  with- 
out a  military  escort.  I  feel  assured  in  his 
presence." 

"  It  is  indeed  a  painful  thought  to  be  driven, 
forced  from  one's  home  and  country,  even  as  a 
penalty  for  real  crime,  but  when  for  an  accident, 


138  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

a  misfortune,  which  points  to  no  criminal  intent, 
it  is  a  grief,  unassuaged  by  aught  save  a  con- 
scious innocence.  Though  in  my  case,  so  far, 
a  halo  of  real  romance  seems  to  gather  around 
to  shed  its  sweet  sadness  o'er  my  heart,  to  lighten 
the  burden  that  presses  it.  Indeed  it  feels  like 
the  tender  hand  of  the  All-wise  Father,  caressing 
my  troubled  spirit  into  quiet  and  confident  re- 
pose. Indeed,  I  almost  feel  thankful  for  the  rod; 
and  to  bless  the  hand  that  holds  and  applies  it. 
In  a  word,  to  speak  directly,  the  trip  we  are  about 
to  make  seems  in  its  circumstances  more  like 
a  pleasure  trip  than  going  into  exile.  But  let 
us  to  repose ;  it  is  eleven  o'clock,  and  we  must 
rise  early." 

They  retired,  and  the  travelers  of  to-morrow 
are  soon  lost  in  sweet  slumbers,  which  are  made 
a  little  sweeter  by  pleasant  dreams,  in  which  the 
name  of  "Lieutenant  H."  escapes  the  lips  of 
both  the  fair  sleepers  in  low  murmuring  tones. 
Each  hears  the  gentle  murmur  from  the  other, 
but  is  unknowing  of  her  own ;  and  each  buries 
the  secret  in  her  heart,  resolved  that  what  has 
passed  the  portals  of  the  ear  shall  not  command 
the  tongue  for  revelation  on  the  house-top,  nor 
to  private  ears,  not  even  their  own,  unless,  per- 
chance, the  mischievous  little  deity  that  presides 
over  the  heart  destinies  of  most  people,  shall, 


139 

for  the  sake  of  diversion,  so  far  awaken  curiosity 
as  to  force  out  the  secret. 

The  morning  light  breaks  in  the  east,  and 
throws  increasing  strength  upon  the  darkness 
of  slumbering  night.  Awake,  yes,  wide  awake. 
They  arise,  and  perform  in  thoughtful  silence, 
and  with  unusual  care,  their  morning  toilet. 
The  morning  repast  is  hurried  through.  The 
ambulance  is  at  the  door,  and  Lew,  at  seven 
o'clock,  is  loading  and  strapping  on  the  trunks, 
with  other  necessary  traveling  equippage.  The 
morning  is  beautiful,  and  the  glorious  sun  has 
nearly  reached  the  score  of  eight  in  the  heavens, 
when  Lieutenant  H.  suddenly  appears,  with  smi- 
ling politeness,  as  bright  as  the  sunny  morning, 
and  exclaims,  "All  ready,  I  see,  and  so  am  I; 
shall  we  be  off?" 

The  family  adieus  are  said.  Lewis  is  on  the 
front  seat,  with  lines  in  hand.  The  Lieutenant 
hands  the  ladies  in,  Emma  beside  her  brother. 
Just  then  Mrs.  E.  remarks,  "  I  suppose,  Lieu- 
tenant, you  will  occupy  the  seat  beside  your 
prisoner,  to  prevent  her  escape  into  the  deep, 
tangled  wild  wood,  when  passing  through  the 
dark  '  bottoms '  of  the  Brazos  ?  We  shall  soon 
be  there." 

"  Thank  you,  Madam,  that  would  seem  en- 
tirely proper,  and  perhaps  necessary;  at  least 


I4O  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

the  situation  is  not  repulsive."  So  saying,  he 
became  seated  with  a  satisfied  air,  and  Emma 
gave  a  stolen  glance  back  over  her  shoulder  at 
the  double  situation,  first  of  officer  and  prisoner, 
and  then  of  friends.  She  denied  to  herself 
thinking  she  would  be  willing  to  exchange  seats 
with  Mrs.  E.,  as  she  caught  sight  of  the  Lieu- 
tenant's handsome  face  smiling  under  the  star- 
light of  his  brilliant  eyes.  She  felt  a  little  un- 
easiness on  her  own  seat,  and  imagined  it  was 
not  as  easy  as  the  back  seat  would  be ;  still  she 
comforted  herself  into  a  tolerable  degree  of  con- 
tentment, though  it  was  far  from  being  a  con- 
tinual feast.  She  thought,  and  admitted  to  her- 
self, that  the  arrangement  of  seats  was  entirely 
natural,  and  to  introduce  any  change  would  be 
rude.  So  she  would  endure  what  had  no  cure, 
and  bide  her  time.  These  reflections  came  and 
went  in  her  mind,  but  if  some  invisible  hand 
had  written  them  down  over  her  signature,  she 
would  have  denied  the  authorship  of  them. 

An  hour  or  more  had  passed,  and  Lew  had 
been  giving  strict  attention  to  his  handsome 
mulos,  and  on  the  level  road  had  allowed  them 
willing  speed,  and  now  they  descend  quite  a  hill, 
and  enter  the  four-mile  'bottoms '  of  the  Brazos. 
The  way  was  a  narrow  forest  arcade.  The  giants 
locked  arms  one  and  two  hundred  feet  above  their 


MRS.   E.'S  EXILE.  141 

beads,  festooned  with  vines,  mingled  with  the 
deep  hanging  moss,  which  fringed  the  trees  here 
*nd  there,  and  everywhere  vailing  from  view  the 
face  of  the  sky,  and  holding  back  the  sun's  rays, 
vvhich  penetrate  not  that  dark  passage,  for  full 
eight  months  of  the  year.  Strange  sounds  here 
fall  upon  the  ear,  reminding  one  that  half  the 
zoological  collections  of  Noah's  ark  could  be 
found  here,  both  of  bird  and  beast.  A  half 
shuddering  fear  came  over  the  ladies  in  that  par- 
tial night,  and  each  one  leans  a  little  nearer  her 
companion.  They  have  penetrated  the  dark  way 
half  a  mile  or  more,  when  suddenly  the  mules 
stop,  affrighted,  and  begin  to  back.  Emma 
screams,  and  half  swoons  on  her  brother's  arm. 
"  What's  the  matter  ?"  exclaim  the  others.  Lew 
is  some  excited,  but  keeps  cool  from  necessity. 
It  was  indeed  a  startling  sight.  An  immense 
panther  had  just  leaped  across  the  archway, 
from  tree  to  tree,  forty  to  fifty  feet  above,  and  a 
few  rods  ahead,  as  though  preparing  for  a  leap 
upon  the  unwary  travelers.  At  the  moment  of 
alarm,  the  Lieutenant  had  clutched  his  trusty 
rifle  by  his  side,  and  the  next  instant  all  four 
saw  the  cause  of  alarm.  The  brave  officer  was 
instantly  on  the  ground,  with  rifle  in  hand,  and 
already  drawing  a  bead  on  the  gentleman  in  the 
trees.  "  Take  care  of  the  team  and  ladies,  Lew, 


142  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS.1 

and  I  will  soon  make  him  sick,"  said  he,  but  the 
animal  was  leaping  from  tree  to  tree,  making  off 
into  the  deeper  forest,  and  was  out  of  sight  at 
two  or  three  bounds,  screaming  as  he  went. 
But  the  Lieutenant  gave  him  a  parting  salute, 
on  a  shadowy  glimpse  of  him,  at  the  sixth 
bound.  The  animal  gave  an  unearthly  scream, 
that  sent  a  million  echo  thrills  through  the  dark 
woods,  and  then  a  heavy  ground  fall.  "IVe 
brought  him,"  exclaimed  the  officer.  Reload- 
ing his  gun,  though  he  had  one  load  yet  in 
the  other  barrel,  he  ventured  carefully  into  the 
thicket  against  the  earnest  remonstrance  of  the 
ladies,  and  found  the  game  in  the  last  muscular 
struggles  of  death,  as  he  expected,  having  luck- 
ily struck  him  in  the  heart.  Drawing  his  tape 
on  him,  he  measured  nine  feet  from  tip  to  tip. 
Leaving  his  dead  carcass  to  be  food  for  buz- 
zards, and  returning  to  the  ambulance,  they 
moved  on  again  through  the  dark  tunnel,  while 
the  Lieutenant  held  his  finger  on  the  trigger, 
keeping  an  eye  out  for  further  intruders. 

They  had  driven  a  mile  farther,  when  the 
mules  again  pricked  up  their  long  ears,  and  this 
time  a  small  pack  of  wolves  crossed  the  road 
twenty  rods  in  front,  in  a  hurry,  as  if  pursued 
or  pursuing.  They  stopped  not,  nor  so  much 


MRS.   E/S  EXILE.  143 

as  looked  at  the  travelers,  and  were  lost  to  view 
in  an  instant  or  so. 

The  Lieutenant  here  mischievously  inquired, 
"  Mrs.  E.,  is  it  here  you  would  like  to  escape 
from  me  '  into  the  deep  tangled  wildwood  ?' " 
That  lady  only  answered  with  a  shudder.  Mis-* 
fortunes,  on  dit,  never  come  single ;  so  with 
frights.  They  had  now  reached  the  muddy 
malarious  Brazos,  and  ferried  across  by  virtue 
of  a  military  pass,  and  had  gone  a  full  mile 
beyond.  The  pressure  of  fear  had  begun  to 
yield  as  they  saw  open  daylight  through  the 
tunnel,  a  quarter  mile  in  the  distance,  but  now 
again  the  mulos  suddenly  halt  in  a  fright,  and  this 
time  with  snorting  fear,  snuffing  danger  near ! 

"  Look  there  ahead  in  the  track !  See  that 
awful  snake  coiled  there!"  exclaimed  Emma. 
Again  the  Lieutenant  was  on  the  ground,  gun 
in  hand;  and  again  the  fair  ones  object.  But  he 
was  not  deterred  from  the  purpose  of  bruising 
the  serpent's  head.  Providing  himself  with  a 
dead  limb  that  had  fallen  from  the  trees  above, 
he  went  bravely  to  the  attack ;  first  firing  a  bul- 
let at  his  snakeship's  head  as  it  stood  raised  in 
arched  defiance  over  the  complex  coils,  ready 
for  the  springing  bite  of  death !  The  bullet 
carried  away  the  crest  of  the  head,  which  threw 
the  reptile  into  fearful  contortions,  and  then, 


144  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

with  terrific  blows  from  the  limb  of  the  tree, 
he  soon  brought  it  to  a  quiet  quivering  rattle ! 
It  was  a  fearfully  large  spotted  wood  rattle- 
snake, and  by  the  tape  measured  eight  feet 
three  inches  in  length,  and  had  seventeen  rat- 
tles. Relieving  the  highway  of  its  presence, 
and  casting  it  into  the  brush  by  the  wayside, 
they  passed  on,  querrying,  "  What  next  in  the 
line  of  sensation  ?"  and  thinking,  that  for  the 
first  half  day,  and  the  first  ten  miles,  the  events 
of  the  morning  would  suffice  all  fancy  for  that 
class  of  romance. 

Again  the  cruel  Lieutenant  asks  something 
about  escaping  "  into  the  deep  tangled  wild- 
wood."  But  Mrs.  E.  extorts  a  promise  from 
him  of  silence  on  that  subject  in  the  future;  at 
least  till  they  get  out  of  the  woods. 

No  more  disturbing  events  occurred  that  day, 
but  the  feast  of  heart  and  soul  was  rich  and 
racy.  They  were  out  of  the  fearful  "  bottoms  " 
and  rising  to  the  clear  and  balmy  atmosphere 
of  the  beautiful  upland  prairies.  How  different 
from  the  humid,  pestiferous  breath  of  the  low, 
dark  regions  of  an  hour  ago !  They  breathed 
free  again.  It  was  high  noon,  and  they  saw, 
two  or  three  miles  ahead,  a  beautiful  grove, 
where  they  agreed  to  go  into  midday  camp. 
On  nearing  it  at  one  o'clock,  their  advance  guard 


145 

of  two  ambulances  and  the  "six  in  gray,"  were 
coming  out.  The  hailing  sign  to  halt  was  given 
by  the  Lieutenant,  and  driving  up,  a  few  words 
were  exchanged,  and  orders  given  about  the 
route  and  where  to  camp  that  night,  and  then 
the  advance  drove  on,  leaving  the  officer  and 
his  company  in  the  leafy  grove  by  the  cooling 
spring,  enjoying  their  noon  refreshments.  No 
fire  was  struck,  no  coffee  made,  but  a  basket  of 
native  claret  was  opened,  a  bottle  broke,  and  the 
nectar  of  the  gods  was  sipped  from  silver  gob- 
lets by  the  joyous  four. 

Two  hours  had  flown  by  in  happy  mood,  in 
which  the  stomach  proved  the  principal  organ  of 
friendship.  The  hungry  epicures  in  the  woods 
felt  the  divine  flow  more  free  and  warm  in  obey- 
ing this  ordinance  of  the  gods.  Their  willing 
hearts  would  have  staid  in  such  a  frame,  and 
whiled  away  the  sunny  hours  in  that  grove  off 
bliss,  but  the  voice  of  duty  called  from  refresh- 
ment to  the  labor  of  the  way.  The  mulos  were 
satisfied,  hitched  up,  and  on  the  move  to  the 
wesV,  accomplishing  twenty  miles  more  by  night- 
fall, where  they  find  the  advance  again,  in  beau- 
tiful camps,  with  two  bright  camp-fires  a  few 
rods  apart — one  for  themselves  and  one  for  the 
exile  with  her  attendants.  The  provisions  are 
brought  out  for  supper,  and  on  this  occasion 
10 


146  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

Lieutenant  H.  proves  himself  an  adept  at  coffee 
making. 

The  ladies  offer  to  take  charge  of  the  cook- 
ing department,  but  he  objects,  claiming  that  he 
can  make  the  best  coffee.  "  Ladies, '  let  him  that 
would  be  great  among  you,  be  your  servant.' 
I  am  the  character  referred  to  in  the  quotation, 
and  I  insist  that  you  shall  not  be  my  competi- 
tors for  distinction  in  the  coffee-making  line." 

When  the  evening  repast  was  over,  the  Lieu- 
tenant takes  the  ladies,  one  on  each  arm,  and 
kindly  gives  them  a  bit  of  walking  exercise  by 
moonlight,  through  the  grove,  thus  relieving 
the  tedium  of  riding  all  day.  The  balm,  stilly 
breezes  creep  through  the  open  spaces  with  vo- 
luptuous effect,  inspiring  the  arm-in-arm  trio 
with  soft  sentiment,  and  their  happier  thoughts 
are  mostly  on  themselves.  "  Stop,"  says  Emma. 
"What  dreadful  noise  is  that?"  as  the  distant 
screeching  howl  of  the  Coyotas  fell  on  the  ear. 
"It  is  the  Coyotas,"  replied  Lieutenant  H. 

"  Let  us  return  to  camp  at  once,"  said  both 
the  ladies,  and  back  they  went  quicker  than 
they  came. 

It  is  ten  o'clock  at  night,  the  guards  are  on 
duty,  and  all  retire,  the  ladies  behind  the  ambu- 
lance curtains,  and  the  officer  and  Lew  on  a 
blanket  before  the  camp-fire.  The  wolves  come 


MRS.  E/S  EXILE.  147 

in  and  howl  an  hour  or  two  within  a  few  rods 
of  the  fires,  in  search  of  camp  offals.  The  eye- 
lids of  the  fair  ones  refuse  sleep.  At  last  a 
charge  is  made  on  the  lank,  hungry  creatures, 
and  a  volley  fired  into  their  ranks  by  the  guards, 
and  they  are  routed  and  return  not  for  the  night, 
and  then  Somnus  commands  all  in  quiet  rest  for 
the  next  six  hours.  At  seven  in  the  morning 
breakfast  is  over,  and  the  advance  leads  out 
again,  followed  an  hour  later  by  the  traveling 
partie  carree. 

The  next  six  days  of  travel  furnish  no  great 
variety  of  scenery  or  excitement,  except  in  the 
social  department,  which  seemed  never  to  cloy. 
Otherwise,  the  trip,  for  the  most  part,  was  but  a 
daily  experience  of  repeated  routine.  All  eyes 
and  ears  became  familiar  with  sights  and  sounds 
by  night  and  by  day.  Immense  droves  of  cattle 
and  horses  were  seen  grazing  right  and  left  over 
the  wide-spread  prairies,  and  occasionally  lank 
hunger  was  seen  sitting  at  the  mouth  of  his  hole, 
in  some  sand  bank  or  mound,  or  at  the  roots  of 
some  lone  veteran  tree,  looking  wistfully  at  the 
travelers,  seeming  to  say  to  them,  "  How  I 
would  like  to  feast  on  your  starved  carcasses !" 
A  bullet  from  the  Lieutenant's  rifle  keeled  one 
back  into  his  hole,  and  scared  another,  tearing 
a  rabbit  for  his  breakfast  so  bad  that  he  made 


148  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

lightning  speed  northward,  and  never  slacked 
ror  the  mile  he  was  in  sight,  and  at  the  brow  of 
the  hill,  where  his  narrative  became  invisible,  its 
last  motion  seemed  to  speak  back  and  say,  "  I 
never  heard  a  rifle  before."  And  probably  it 
was  the  fact — and  on  he  went,  as  if  resolved  on 
never  stopping  till  he  got  to  the  north  pole,  for 
fear  he  might  hear  another. 

On  the  seventh  day  the  weary  travelers  stood 
on  the  banks  of  the  far  famed  "  Rio  Grande,"  at 
Brownsville,  opposite  the  city  of  Matamoras,  in 
the  State  of  Tamaulipas,  Mexico.  The  Lieuten- 
ant here  ordered  the  advance  into  camp  to  wait 
his  return.  And  then  he  crossed  the  "  Rio " 
with  the  exiles,  and  remained  with  them  till  they 
were  located  in  a  pleasant  suite  of  three  rooms 
fronting  on  the  "  Grand  Plaza,"  near  the  mag- 
nificent Cathedral.  He  made  the  excuse  to  him- 
self that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  act  as  spe- 
cial protector  to  the  ladies,  till  they  were  suf- 
ficiently familiarized  with  the  ways  of  that  strange 
people,  to  be  able  to  make  their  own  way,  till 
he  could  see  them  again,  and  perhaps  in  nearer 
and  dearer  relations. 

Lieutenant  H.  had  now  had  ample  time  to 
analyze  and  determine  the  character  of  his  feel- 
ings, which  he  more  than  once  had  displayed  in 
manner  toward  Mrs.  E,,  but  had  not  spoken  with 


MRS.   E.  S  EXILE.  149 

his  lips.  In  his  self-examination  he  found  his 
heart  vibrating  between  two  attractions — Mrs. 
E.  and  Emma.  The  question  of  preference,  as 
tried  by  a  purely  chronological  standard,  stood 
against  Mrs.  E.  She  was  considerably  his 
senior  in  years,  that  was  plain,  but  how  much, 
and  how  many  years,  he  could  only  guess.  He 
could  not  tell  if  she  were  older  or  younger  than 
she  appeared,  but  probably  older;  that  is,  she 
was  young  appearing  for  one  of  her  years ;  or, 
vice  versa,  she  was  old  appearing  for  one  of  her 
years ;  that  is,  younger  than  she  appeared ;  or, 
making  a  third  alternative,  she  was  just  the  age 
she  appeared  to  be.  "  But  how  old  would  that 
be?"  he  asked  himself.  And  here  again  he  was 
puzzled.  Sometimes,  during  their  travels,  he 
thought  she  looked  younger,  and  then  again 
older,  than  when  he  first  saw  her,  and  served  the 
summons.  At  one  time  he  thought  he  saw  the 
signs  of  wrinkling  age,  and  then  again  he  didn't 
see  them.  "  But,"  he  said  again,  "  one  thing  is 
certain,  the  general  proposition  is  true,  that  she 
is  either  older  or  younger  than  she  looks,  or 
just  as  old  as  she  looks.  So  far  I  am  safe;  and 
furthermore,  it  is  safe  to  affirm  that,  judging 
from  mere  appearances,  she  is  about  forty  years 
old.  She  may  be  older,  or  she  may  be  younger. 
Yes,  she  may  be,  but  I  think  I  am  not  far  out 


I5O  FIVE   YEARS    IN   TEXAS. 

of  the  way.  She  certainly  is,  without  any  pos- 
sible mistake,  somewhere  between  thirty-eight 
and  fifty.  If  I  were  sure  she  were  only  forty,  I 
could  stand  that.  Let  me  see:  I  am  thirty-five 
Suppose  she  were  but  forty ;  how  would  that  do  ? 
A  wife  five  years  older  than  her  husband !  It 
would  sound  better  the  other  way.  I  don't  like 
it  very  well,  but,  with  love,  I  think  I  could  en- 
dure the  disparity.  Endure  (?),  is  that  the  word 
for  a  man  seeking  a  companion  ? 

" There  is  Miss  Emma;  how  old  is  she ?  From 
twenty  to  twenty-five.  That  certainly  sounds 
better.  But  do  I  love  her  well  enough  to  make 
a  wife  of  her?  Well,  I  think  I  could,  or  do(?), 
if  Mrs.  E.  was  out  of  the  question ;  I  feel  her 
drawing  me  the  hardest,  and  the  orthodox  peo- 
ple say  there  can  be  but  one  true  love,  and  I 
suppose  it  must  be  so,  either  because  they  say 
so,  or  because  it  is  true  in  fact,  in  nature,  that  is, 
one's  experience  will  accord  with  the  sentiment. 
But  is  it  true  in  my  experience  ?  I  am  afraid 
not;  therefore  I  am  a  miserable  sinner.  It  is 
true,  I  am  more  or  less  involved  in  feelings  to- 
ward Miss  Emma,  warmer  than  common  friend- 
ship between  a  single  lady  and  gentleman,  and 
it  is  more  than  less.  Now  what  is  a  man  to  do 
with  an  experience  so  in  violation  of  the  ortho- 

I 


MRS.    E/S   EXILE.  15  I 

dox  teaching  and  steady  habits  of  the  olden 
times  of  our  ancestors  ? 

"  But  hold ;  here  I  am  talking  quite  foolishly, 
for  how  do  I  know  that  either  of  those  ladies 
would  accept?  I  have  not  proposed,  and  they 
certainly  won't.  What  shall  I  do?  I  can  not 
propose  to  both,  for  1  am  not  a  Mormon,  and 
don't  want  to  be.  Still  I  like  them  both,  that's 
true,  but  the  laws  of  the  land  are  against  bigamy. 
I  wonder  if  nature  is?  Certainly  human  self- 
ishness is  not.  But  hold  again,  there  is  no  end 
to  love's  mystery.  The  only  way  is  to  be  brave. 
'A  faint  heart  never  won  a  fair  lady.'  The 
more  I  think,  the  more  am  I  confused,  in  a 
quandary.  O  thou  winged  god,  tell  me  what  to 
do !  I  am  resolved  what  to  do.  I  will  first  ask 
one  and  then  the  other.  But  which  one  first? 
And  will  this  be  honorable  to  the  last?  Stop, 
ye  gods !  confusion  confused !  What  am  I 
about  ?  Crazy !  ho,  for  the  insane  asylum ! 
But  I  must  find  relief.  I  am  desperate !" 

Evening  shades  appear,  and  Lieutenant  H. 
is  seated  alone  with  Mrs.  E.,  and  after  a  few  pal- 
pitations choked  down,  his  sitting  posture  and 
position  of  hands  made  satisfactory,  and  his 
words  well  studied,  his  lips  part  to  speak  the 
word  of  destiny,  when  Mrs.  E.  suddenly  breaks 
the  awful  silence  with  the  domestic  utterance, 


152  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

"How  I  would  like  to  see  my  little  daughter 
Kate  and  my  husband  to-night." 

Horrors  seize  upon  him.  He  makes  no  reply. 
"  What  is  the  matter,  Lieutenant,  you  look  so 
pale?"  inquired  Mrs.  E.  He  grows  paler,  and 
she  goes  for  the  camphor,  and  hurrying  back 
places  the  bottle  to  his  olfactories,  repeating, 
"  What  is  the  matter,  Lieutenant  ?"  Recovering 
a  little,  he  stammers  out,  "  Nothing,  Mrs.  E.; 
nothing,  only  I  felt  a  little  faint,  as  I  do  some- 
times. Let  me  pass  out  into  the  open  air,  and 
I  shall  soon  be  myself  again."  When  he  stood 
outside  in  the  free  air,  and  looked  up  into  the 
heavens,  made  beautiful  by  moonlight — the  un- 
rivaled silvery  moonlight  of  Mexico — lie  thanked 
his  stars,  most  of  all,  for  putting  it  into  the  heart 
of  Mrs.  E.  to  speak  at  the  instant  she  did,  and 
save  him  from  unutterable  chagrin !  In  a  few 
minutes  he  returned  to  the  room  where  he  had 
left  the  lady,  and  was  once  more  seated  in 
her  matronly  presence.  She  was  changed,  and 
looked  older  now,  and  more  unapproachable  in 
his  eyes.  Surprised  at  his  quick  convalesence, 
he  was  now  prepared  to  enter  upon  conversa- 
tion with  Mrs.  E.  concerning  Miss  Emma.  He 
felt  settled  now  that  his  angel  was  calling  his 
heart  toward  her.  So  after  a  few  easy  interro- 


MRS.   E.'S  EXILE.  153 

gatories,  addressed  to  Mrs.  E.,  he  was  satisfied 
that  she  was  neither  married  nor  engaged. 

Miss  Emma  had  been  out  walking  with  her 
brother  Lew,  and  had  just  returned  and  entered 
the  room.  For  a  few  moments  all  took  part  in 
a  running  conversation,  but  being  about  time  to 
retire,  Mrs.  E.  and  Lew  withdrew  from  the  room, 
thereby  breaking  up  the  congregation,  and  leav- 
ing the  Lieutenant  and  Miss  Emma,  each  to 
enjoy  company.  "  Two  are  company,  and  three 
are  a  congregation,"  says  Emerson. 

We  will  say  in  brief,  he  proposed  and  she  ac- 
cepted, but  on  condition  that  she  might  remain 
with  Mrs.  E.  during  the  exile. 

"  Certainly,  Miss  Emma,  you  shall  remain.  I 
would  not  have  you  leave  her,  and  am  glad  to 
see  this  evidence  of  your  friendship  and  faithful 
devotion.  And  now,  Miss  Emma,  as  I  have  never 
been  an  advocate  of  long  courtships,  but  depre- 
cate them  after  the  parties  engaged  are  sufficient- 
ly acquainted,  I  would  respectfully  suggest,  that 
without  ceremonious  preparation  or  invitations, 
which  we  could  not  have  here,  among  strangers, 
and  in  a  strange  land — and  without  waiting  till 
we  can  have  them — we  have  the  nuptials  sol- 
emnized to-morrow  evening,  in  this  room,  at 
eight  o'clock,  in  the  presence  of  Mrs.  E.  and 
your  brother.  I  will  remain  with  you  a  few 


154  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

days,  and  then  return  with  my  squad,  and  re- 
port to  headquarters,  and  by  some  honorable 
means  get  back  to  you  here  at  an  early  day." 

At  this  interesting  stage  of  proceedings,  the 
retired  portion  of  the  congregation  was  called 
from  their  slumbers  to  hear  and  sanction  the 
matrimonial  terms,  which,  being  duly  done,  the 
ladies  disappeared  for  the  night,  and  Lieutenant 
H.  went  to  repose  with  Lew,  who  in  twenty-four 
hours  more  would  be  his  new  brother. 

They  were  married,  and  in  ten  days  duly 
called  the  bridegroom  to  interior  Texas,  where 
he  was  held  four  months  before  he  could  corns 
back  to  his  bride.  Three  months  more,  and  the 
war  had  closed  with  victory  for  the  "  Stars  and 
Stripes."  Mrs.  E.  and  her  friends  were  relieved 
from  exile,  and  all  returned  home  to  the  bless- 
ings of  peace  and  joys  of  domestic  life.  Lieu- 
tenant H.  had  proved  a  heaven-sent  blessing  to 
them  all. 


LAWLESSNESS   AND   CRIME.  I $5 


CHAPTER  XV. 

LAWLESSNESS   AND   CRIME. 

the  summer  of  1863,  we  were  coming 
up  the  Texas  Central  Railroad,  from  Hous- 
ton to  Hempstead,  a  distance  of  fifty  miles. 
On  reaching  the  latter  place  we  had  stepped 
from  the  cars  to  the  depot  platform,  and  in  a 
minute  heard  a  pistol-shot  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  train.  Thought  nothing  strange  of  it  till 
in  a  moment  more  some  one  remarked:  "A 
man  is  shot."  And  even  then  thought  nothing 
unusual  of  it.  The  feeling  of  terror  was  only  a 
uniform  matter  of  course.  But  stepping  across 
the  way  we  observed  a  crowd  gathering  at  an 
unoccupied  store  building,  went  in  and  there 
saw  a  man  on  the  counter,  stretched  at  full 
lengsffe  on  his  back,  struggling  in  his  blood,  and 
breathing  heavily,  with  a  bullet-hole  through  his 
head  and  brains  protruding.  Near  by  him  stood 

his  murderer,  Dr.  O r,  with  nonchalance  and 

a  smile  of  fiendish  satisfaction. 

The  dying   man   had  been  overseer  on   his 


156  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

murderer's  plantation.     A  difference  had  arisen 

between   Mrs.  O r  and  the  overseer  about 

the  management  of  the  plantation.  And  the 
lady,  true  to  Southern  instinct,  could  not  brook 
opposition  from  an  overseer,  so  she  writes  her- 
self "  insulted "  to  the  doctor  in  the  army,  and 
home  he  comes  in  a  rage  by  the  train  we  were 
on,  and  spying  the  unsuspecting  offender  through 
the  car-window,  leaps  out  and  shoots  him  down 
at  sight  and  without  warning.  No  one  looked 
strange  or  excited,  or  said  a  word.  We  walked 
back  to  the  train  in  disgust,  feeling  it  may  be 
our  turn  next.  Went  home  to  B m,  twenty- 
five  miles,  and  the  next  morning  a  friend  of  ours 
— a  druggist,  Dr.  F- g,  from  Paducah,  Ken- 
tucky, at  the  opening  of  the  war — was  assassi- 
nated in  the  public  streets.  The  writer  officia- 
ted at  his  funeral  from  his  widowed  mother's 
house,  who  was  thus  robbed  of  her  only  son 
and  support  in  old  age.  The  sheriff  of  Wash- 
ington County  witnessed  the  transaction,  and 
had  foreknowledge  of  it,  but  did  nothing  offi- 
cially to  prevent  or  punish  the  crime.  The 

name  of  the  assassin  was  B 1,  who,  the  writer 

learns,  has  since  come  to  a  similar  end  himself 
in  the  State  of  Mississippi,  thus  illustrating  the 
innate  reflex,  as  it  were,  of  the  law  of  retributive 
justice  that  sleeps  not  nor  slumbers  till  it  has 


LAWLESSNESS  AND  CRIME.  1 57 

blood  for  blood,  life  for  life!  The  murdered 
man's  mother  and  only  sister  are  since  deceased, 
hurried  out  of  the  world  by  the  great  sorrow  of 
his  untimely  and  tragic  end ! 

One  night  after  the  family  had  retired  several 
pistol-shots  were  fired  back  of  our  house,  at- 
tended with  boisterous  talking.  Dressing,  we 
went  to  the  back  window,  and  there  saw  a  man 
in  the  moonlight  falling  to  the  ground.  Just 
then  a  voice  at  the  front  of  the  house  called : 
"  Mr.  N.,  Mr.  N.,  come  down  here,  I  want  to  see 
you  quick!"  Descending  the  outside  stairway 
leading  from  the  upper  to  the  lower  gallery,  we 
met  our  friend  Captain  C,  who  instantly  ex- 
claimed: "Mr.  N.,  I  have  shot  my  best  friend 
all  to  pieces.  Please  go  and  look  after  him.  I 
must  leave.  You  will  find  me  at  Dr.  B.'s  or 
about  there."  We  went  to  the  dying  man,  and 
found  several  collected  around  him.  He  had 
two  shots  through  the  knee  and  thigh,  the  latter 
cutting  the  big  artery,  and  he  bled  to  death  in  a 
few  minutes. 

It  was  Mr.  Smythe,  whom  we  had  met  not 
three  hours  before  in  the  evening,  and  who  then 
took  occasion  to  protest  his  innocence  from  hav- 
ing taken  part,  as  we  had  been  informed,  in  a 
little  persecution  against  the  writer  about  the 
purchase  of  a  lot  of  cotton.  We'  noticed  he 


15*8  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

seemed  somewhat  excited,  judging  from  his  tone 
of  voice  in  the  dark,  and  he  on  horseback  in  the 
street.  While  conversing  he  remarked  in  a  low 
defiant  tone :  "  You  know,  Mr.  N.,  that  I  am  not 
afraid  of  any  man !" '  Just  then  we  heard  the 
click  of  a  pistol  in  his  hands,  and  instantly  felt 
ourself  in  danger,  and  saying  to  him  "  it  is  all 
"right,"  suddenly  retreated  to  the  house  and  did 
not  go  out  again  till  called  out  to  look  after  his 
corpse. 

It  seems  after  we  left  him  he  fell  in  company 
with  a  drunken  desperado,,  and  about  eleven 
o'clock  the  latter  came  to  the  gate  of  our  back- 
yard, on  Smythe's  horse,  and  called  by  name 
for  one  of  the  colored  servants  to  come  out  to 
him,  and  getting  no  response  tore  pickets  from 
the  fence  and  hurled  them  against  the  door  of 
the  negro  quarters.  Soon  Smythe  appeared 
and  an  altercation  took  place  between  them 
about  the  horse.  Our  friend,  Captain  C.,  was 
passing  to  his  home,  and  out  of  kindness  to  the 
family  sought  to  quell  the  disturbance.  As  he 
reached  the  spot  the  desperado  was  drawing  his 
revolver  on  Smythe,  and  when  disarmed  by  the 
Captain,  then  Smythe  in  turn  drew  a  derringer 
on  the  desperado,  when  the  Captain  caught  it  in 
his  left  hand,  holding  the  revolver  in  his  right, 
and  saying :  "  You  shall  not  shoot  a  disarmed 


LAWLESSNESS   AND   CRIME.  159 

man."  Smythe  responded :  "  Let  go  my  pistol 
or  I'll  shoot  you"  accompanying  the  threat  with 
an  oath.  A  struggle  ensued  in  which  Smythe 
recovered  the  use  of  his  pistol,  and  shot  the 
Captain,  grazing  his  hip.  He  replied  with  two 
shots,  which  finished  Smythe's  career  on  earth. , 
A  preliminary  examination  was  had,  and  the 
Captain  was  bound  over,  but  the  grand  jury  dis- 
missed the  case  as  justifiable  homicide. 

We  will  now  relate  an  incident,  with  which 
the  writer  was  still  more  personally  connected, 
to  illustrate  the  bitter  prejudices  a  Northern  man 
had  to  meet  living  in  that  country.  Yes,  prej- 
udice !  a  thing  conceived  in  sin,  born  in  iniquity, 
twin  of  jealousy,  and  equally  cruel ;  one  of  the 
relics  of  -barbarism  still  clinging  to  poor  human 
nature,  tormenting  its  waking  hours  and  its 
dreams  by  night,  lurking  in  the  soul's  deep  re- 
cesses, and  in  the  thoughts  of  the  brain,  display- 
ing in  its  action  all  the  bristling,  snarling,  growl- 
ing, barking,  and  snapping  suspicion  of  the  ca- 
nine race,  ready  to  pitch  on  every  strange  dog 
passing  the  street.  It  may  be  further  character- 
ized as  the  blindest,  most  unreasonable,  hateful 
and  hating,  and  most  desperately  wicked  pas- 
sion of  the  human  soul.  It  casts  its  blighting 
mildew  over  everything  it  touches. 

We  can  have  no  extensive  acquaintance  with 


I6O  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS/ 

its  presence  and  power  in  society  until  we  have 
met  and  felt  its  chafing  and  friction-grinding 
power  in  the  strange  relations  and  contacts  of  a 
selfish  and  suspicious .  world.  Our  ideas  and 
feelings  are  not  sufficiently  humanized  and  cath- 
olic in  their  sway.  And  when  we  think  they 
are,  frequently  on  occasion  we  are  waked  up  to 
discover  they  are  not.  The  thought  is  unwel- 
come, that  in  this  we  exhibit  still,  in  despite  our 
genteel  and  generous  progress,  the  unconscious 
affinities  of  barbarism. 

But  why  do  we  thus  comment  ?  Because  in 
our  five  years'  Texas  experience  we  met  this 
monster  of  the  human  heart  in  shapes  and 
phases,  deeper,  darker,  and  more  vile  than  we  had 
ever  dreamed  of  before,  or  could  have  dreamed 
if  we  had  never  seen  Texas.  There  this  barbar- 
ous element  assumes  a  more  lawless  and  crim- 
inal form  than  in  any  other  country  we  ever 
saw.  There  it  hesitates  not  at  doing  personal 
violence  to  its  object.  And  so  much  the  more 
as  they  value  human  life  less  than  other  people. 
Comparatively,  Northern  people  can  scarcely 
imagine  what  prejudice  means  except  in  milder 
forms,  and  as  defined  in  dictionaries,  pulpit  the- 
ories, and  so  forth. 

A  lady  friend  said  to  us  on  our  return  from 
that  country:  "  Mr.  N.,  you  ought  to  be  a  wiser 


LAWLESSNESS   AND   CRIME.  l6l 

man  for  what  you  have  seen  in  Texas."  A  gen- 
tleman was  kind  enough  to  say  to  us :  "  Served 
you  right,  you  had  no  business  to  go  there  in 
the  first  place."  Now  we  do  not  of  course  ask 
the  alms  of  sympathy  in  our  Texas  experience, 
particularly  from  such  as  might  feel  harmed  by 
the  exercise  of  that  noble  grace,  but  simply  ap- 
pear as  the  writer  of  a  little  personal  history. 

Perhaps  no  Northern  man  was  more  unfortu- 
nately situated  in  Texas  than  the  writer.  He 
had  gone  there  just  a  few  months  prior  to  the 
war,  which,  to  the  eye  of  prejudice,  was  evi- 
dence, prima  facie,  that  he  was  a  spy,  or  some- 
thing else  inimical  to  the  country's  welfare.  If 
not,  why  was  he  there  at  that  late  day  ?  The 
incident  we  wish  to  relate  is  in  the  following. 

11 


1 62  FIVE   YEARS    IN   TEXAS. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

THE   TWO    DAYS'    MEETING. 

jOMETIME  in  June,  1864,  the  writer  had  an 
appointment  for  a  two-days'  meeting,  four- 
teen miles  away,  at  a  place  called  U 

H ,    Saturday    and    Sunday.     On    the 

morning  of  the  sixth  day  of  the  week,  the  splen- 
did clay-bank  saddle-horse  was  brought  out, 
young  and  vigorous,  and  the  preacher  placing 
himself  in  the  Spanish  saddle,  was  on  his  way 
to  the  religious  meeting,  reaching  there  two 
hours  before  the  time.  Preached  at  eleven 
o'clock  A.  M.  to  a  large  week-day  audience  in 
a  neat  house  of  worship  situated  in  a  beautiful 
grove  on  a  hill  which  was  the  highest  land-point 
in  the  county.  He  was  the  invited  guest  of  a 
local  preacher,  at  whose  instance  the  appoint- 
ment had  originally  been  made. 

In  the  afternoon,  a  self-resolved  committee  of 
three  gentlemen  called  on  the  preacher  to  know 
if  the  report  were  true,  which  was  current  there, 
they  said,  that,  on  the  I2th  of  April  previous,  he 


THE   TWO    DAYS'    MEETING.  163 

had  held  a  feast  at  his  house,  to  which  all  the 
Yankees  in  the  neighborhood  were  invited 
guests,  and  that,  too,  in  express  opposition  to 
the  proclamation  of  President  Davis,  making 
that  a  day  of  fasting  and  prayer,  calling  upon 
the  people  to  resort  to  their  places  of  public 
worship,  and  pray  for  the  success  of  the  Confed- 
eracy. If  not  true  they  desired  to  suggest  that 
the  preacher  had  better  notice  the  report  in  the 
public  meeting  that  night.  His  local  preacher 
friend  opposed  giving  any  such  undue  prom- 
inence to  the  report.  But  he  disposed  of  the 
committee  by  remarking :  "  I  will  follow  my 
best  impressions  at  the  time." 

The  evening  came  on,  the  audience  assem- 
bled, and  after  preliminaries  he  arose  to  an- 
nounce text  and  subject,  but  before  doing  so 
said  to  the  hearers :  "  I  understand  you  have  a 
grievous  report  about  me  here,  the  scene  of 

which  is  laid  in  B m.     I  heard  the  report 

myself  some  time  ago  there,  but  it  bore  such 
evidence  of  instigation  by  the  cloven  tongue 
of  prejudice  and  slander  that  I  thought  little  of 
it,  and  it  had  passed  from  my  mind."  The 
preacher  then  gave  a  brief  recital  as  they  had  it. 

"But,"  said  he,  "the  report  in  B m  had  one 

item  that  you  have  not  here.  That  at  the  close 
of  the  feast  I  was  at  the  head  of  the  table  and 


164  FIVE   YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

dnink  off  a  toast  to  the  name  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln. "  Furthermore/'  said  her  "  I  will  now 
give  you  another  fact  not  contained  in  either 
report.  It  is  this :  The  Confederate  Brigadier- 
general  M.,  with  three  members  of  his  staff,  were 
present  at  my  table  that  day.  One  of  his  staff 
officers  is  a  Baptist  clergyman,  and  was  the  only 
minister  present  at  the  public  services  that  day, 
and  officiated  in  his  clerical  capacity,  coming  from 
church  to  my  house.  This  important  fact  was 
evidently  left  out  of  the  report,  because  if  in- 
craded  it  would  have  damaged  the  plausibility 
of  it  and  defeated  the  purpose  of  the  intended 
slander,  which  was  to  injure  your  humble  serv- 
ant, and  no  one  else." 

The  preacher  continued :  "  We  had  two  meals 
that  day  at  our  house — breakfast  at  the  usual 
hour  of  eight  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  our 
bill  of  fare  contained  no  extras  on  account  of 
the  day;  nor  do  I  remember  that  the  bill  was 
reduced  or  modified  either  in  quality  or  quan- 
tity to  suit  any  preconceived  notions  as  to  what 
would  and  would  not  be  proper  to  eat  or  ab- 
stain from  eating  on  that  proclamation-day  of 
fasting  and  prayer.  We  had  dinner  at  four 
o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  and  having  fasted  four 
hours  beyond  the  usual  hour  for  that  meal,  we 
thought  it  not  a  serious  breach  of  the  letter  or 


THE  TWO    DAYS'   MEETING.  1 65 

spirit  of  the  proclamation-text  to  crowd  a  little 
more  into  the  dinner  hour  at  four  P.  M.  My 
wife  is  a  splendid  cook  herself,  and  what  with 
that  fact,  and  her  supervision  of  three  or  four 
colored  assistants,  and  the  inspiration  all  were 
under  to  do  their  best  because  of  the  coming 
presence  of  the  aforesaid  military  dignitaries,  we 
did  have  about  as  good,  and  delicious,  and  so- 
ciable a  meal  as  the  times  and  the  state  of  the 
market  would  permit.  I  will  not  so  far  dignify 
the  report  as  to  deny  the  evil  animus  of  it,  but 
call  the  attention  of  the  audience  to  two  facts, 
and  leave  you  to  draw  your  own  conclusion :  the 
toast  and  the  presence  at  our  table  of  a  Confed- 
erate Brigadier-general,  with  his  staff,  reconcile 
them  who  can." 

Here  leaving  the  matter,  he  announced  his 
text :  "  But  the  Scripture  hath  concluded  all 
under  sin."  And  as  he  was  in  the  mood  of  a 
%>ly  indignation  at  that  hour,  he  evolved  from 
hi-s  text  the  topic  of  "sin:  wherein  it  consists," 
and  "its  bitter  fruits :  wherein  do  they  consist." 
And  he  gave  them,  to  the  best  of  his  ability,  a 
sermon  that  savored  of  brimstone  and  the  hot 
place  below ! 

Sunday  morning  the  preacher  gave  them 
"faith,  hope,  and  charity,"  and  felt  victory  his, 


\ 


1 66  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

as  seen  in  the  increasing  numbers  and  interest 
of  the  meetings. 

General  M.  was  his  personal  and  accepted 
friend,  and  a  Union  man  at  heart,  and  accepted 
the  garb  of  a  brigadier-general  of  State  militia 
to  hold  his  political  popularity  in  the  State,  for 
he  had  aspirations  toward  the  gubernatorial 
chair,  and  hoped,  some  day  to  do  his  State  bet- 
ter service  in  a  civil  capacity. 


THE  CONSCRIPT  LAW.     '  l6/ 


CHAPTER    XVII. 

THE   CONSCRIPT   LAW   AND   HOW   THE  WRITER 
BEAT  IT. 

^HREE  years  and  more  of  war  had  now 
passed,  and  we  had  succeeded  in  flanking  all 
movements  to  get  us  into  the  army.  The 
conscript  law  had  boen  in  force  a  year  or 
two,  sweeping  all  ages  from  eighteen  to  forty- 
five,  and  all  classes  except  ministers  of  religion 
in  regular  discharge  of  ministerial  duties,  State 
and  county  officers,  and  slaveholders  owning  a 
certain  number  of  slaves,  fifteen  being  the  mini- 
mum. Of  course,  it  being  the  slaveholder's 
war,  arid  the  slaveholder  never  having  been 
obliged  to  work  for  his  rights  in  human  chat- 
tels and  things,  but  others  made  to  produce  and 
maintain  them  for  him,  his  aristocratic  leisure 
must  be  consulted  and  favored  still,  in  the  con- 
duct of  the  war.  It  was  the  slaveholders  war, 
but  the  poor  man's  fight.  And  nothing  pleased 
them  better  than  to  force  a  Northern  man,  de- 
scribed in  their  parlance — a  d — d  Yankee,  and 


1 68  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS.1 

a  d — d  abolitionist" — into  the  army,  and  get 
him  killed  off. 

The  writer  has  been  asked  a  hundred  and  one 
times:  "How  did  you  escape  the  army?"  The 
question  is  easily  answered.  After  the  first  vol- 
unteering wild-fire  had  swept  over  the  land  and 
died  out,  he  saw  what  would  be  the  next  step  in 
the  war  programme,  conscription.  "  The  wise 
man  seeth  the  evil  and  fleeth,"  says  the  prince 
of  wise  men.  And  though  he  did  not  flee  in  the 
literal  sense,  yet  he  did  in  the  legal  sense  of 
the  coming  conscript  law,  by  changing  his 
"  base  "  from  that  of  a  simple  private  citizen  to 
that  of  a  minister  of  religion  ;  and  had  his  regular 
congregation,  to  whom  he  ministered  over  two 
years.  By  this  dernier  resort,  he  bridged  over 
a  bad  place  in  the  road — for  "  Jordan  was  a 
hard  road  to  travel  " — and  he  was  on  the  hardest 
part  of  the  road  in  those  days. 

But  as  late  as  February,  1865,  a  new  ex- 
emption law  was  reported  to  the  Confederate 
Congress,  and  on  the  eve  of  being  passed, 
containing  this  clause:  "All  ministers  of  re- 
ligion, who  have,  at  any  time  during  the  war, 
bought  and  sold  for  profit,  shall  go  into  the 
army."  This  law  was  reported  to  Congress  by 
Mr.  Miles,  of  South  Carolina,  Chairman  of  the 
Military  Committee.  But  we  were  credibly  in- 


THE   CONSCRIPT   LAW.  169 

formed  the  Hon.  Williamson  S.  Oldham,  repre- 
sentative from  our  Congressional  District,  drafted 
it,  and  inserted  the  clause  relating  to  ministers 
of  religion,  with  particular  reference  to  the  wri- 
ter's case.  The  Hon.  gentleman  had  spent  two 
hours  or  more  in  our  store,  the  day  before  leav- 
ing the  last  time  for  Richmond,  Virginia,  to 
dance  attendance  upon  the  last  and  forlorn  ses- 
sion of  the  Confederate  Congress.  And  having 
posted  himself  in  our  case,  he  concluded  that 
business  clergymen  were  the  forlorn  hope  of  the 
Confederacy.  The  animus  of  the  law  was  that 
ministerial  drones  only,  who  would  not  work, 
but  preferred  starvation,  or  living  off  their  bro- 
ken-down congregations,  were  entitled  to  ex- 
emption from  military  duty.  But  the  more  en- 
terprising class  of  ministers,  who  were  willing 
to  divide  financial  burdens  with  their  congrega- 
tions, by  seeking  business  pursuits,  for  support- 
ing themselves  and  families,  and  yet  giving  them 
the  same  amount  of  pulpit  service,  with  the 
drones,  were  damaged  by  the  virtue  of  business 
enterprise,  and  held  to  the  performance  of  mili- 
tary duty. 

This  looked  like  the  impassable  gulf  which 
we  could  neither  cross  nor  flank.  But  Solo- 
mon's forlorn  hope  of  "fleeing"  was  left  us,  and 
we  made  a  hasty  and  masterly  retreat  out  of 


I/O  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

Texas  into  Mexico.  The  retreat,  however,  like 
all  hasty  retreats,  was  expensive  and  financially 
disastrous.  We  had  no  time  to  strike  tent, 
gather  up  family  and  material  interests,  and 
take  with  us.  It  was  the  occasion  of  finally 
losing  thousands  of  dollars.  But  when  safe  on 
the  sunset  side  of  the  Rio  Grande,  in  Matamo- 
ras,  the  Confederate  asthma  left  us,  and  we 
breathed  freer.  But  not  long  after,  we  found 
that  though  we  had  escaped  the  Confederate 
"frying  pan,"  we  had  jumped  into  the  Mexican 
"fire,"  for  the  demon  of  war  was  after  us  there. 
The  city  was  under  the  personal  command  of 
General  Mejia,  the  favorite  General  of  the  Em- 
peror Maximilian,  and  who,  the  reader  will  re- 
member, perished  with  his  imperial  master  at 
the  tragic  close  of  the  quasi  Empire.  And  at 
the  time  we  speak  of,  the  city  was  beleagured 
by  Generals  Canales  and  Cortinas,  of  the  Liberal 
party,  on  the  outside.  The  report  was  put  in 
circulation  that  the  foreign  residents  must  help 
defend  the  city.  This  was  the  most  dangerous 
ground  yet,  for  in  case  of  the  capture  of  the  city, 
the  foreigners  in  arms,  just  at  sunrise  some  fine 
Sunday  morning,  would  have  been  filed  out  on 
"  Boro  Plaza,"  and  shot  to  death  without  "  bene- 
fit of  clergy."  .The  public  shooting  of  one  or 
more  on  this  plaza  was  generally  the  opening 


THE   CONSCRIPT   LAW.  I/I 

entertainment  of  each  Sunday.  From  shooting 
all  went  to  High  Mass,  then  to  carrying  the 
host  through  the  streets ;  thence  to  the  cock- 
fights, '  beer-garden  dances,  theaters  and  other 
amusements  the  balance  of  the  day. 

The  writer  found  that  long  familiarity  with 
such  scenes  resulted  in  a  demoralization  of 
noble  sentiment  and  refined  feelings ;  so  that  at 
last  one  came  to  regard  human  life  not  much 
above  the  level  of  brutes,  and  to  feel  that  there 
is  no  virtue  except  in  name,  and  that  the  dis- 
tinction of  right  and  wrong  is  only  relative  and 
conventional,  having  no  absolute  and  universal 
foundation  in  truth  and  equity.  Indeed  the 
Romish  Church  of  Mexico — and  no  other  is 
there — seemed  to  act  and  move  on  this  broad  as- 
sumption, as  she  does  everywhere,  when  permit- 
ted to  act  out  her  nature  freely,  that  truth  and 
right  are  not  absolute  things  as  they  relate  to 
mankind,  but  are  to  be  held  subject  to  her  dictum 
and  disposal.  Hence  the  same  thing  may  be 
right  or  wrong  at  the  same  time,  depending  only 
on  the  circumstance  of  being  allowed  or  disallow- 
ed by  the  Church.  Here  comes  in  the  plausible, 
yet  mischievous  doctrine  and  dispensation  of  in- 
dulgences. There  is  but  a  step  betwixt  truth  and 
error,  betwixt  the  sublime  and  the  ridiculous. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  L n,  from  Nashville,  Ten- 


172  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

nessee,  a  Cumberland  Presbyterian  divine,  and 
the  writer,  joined  in  a  petition  to  his  Imperial 
Majesty,  Maximilian,  for  a  free  permit  to  hold 
religious  services  as  Protestants  in  the  city 
of  Matamoras.  The  petition  was  granted,  and 
soon  after  it  was  followed  by  a  proclamation 
from  the  Emperor,  decreeing  religious  freedom 
to  all  throughout  the  Empire,  including  foreign- 
ers. This  was  doubtless  a  species  of  religio  coup 
d'etat,  intended  for  effect ;  but  more  abroad  than 
at  home,  particularly  in  the  United  States.  How- 
ever we  took  advantage  of  it  for  a  few  weeks  in 
the  city ;  and  held  services  in  the  "  Varieties' 
Theater/'  each  Sunday  morning,  for  the  benefit 
of  the  Anglo-American  population.  But  after 
the  fourth  Sunday  we  began  to  feel  the  bitter- 
ness of  the  native  population  toward  us.  And 
this,  in  connection  with  the  danger  that  the  city 
might  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  Liberals,  who 
were  less  liberal  in  religion  than  the  Imperials, 
caused  us  to  discontinue  the  religious  services. 
And  though  so  soon  defeated,  yet  we  felt  a  little 
wholesome  pride  in  the  fact  that  we  were  the 
first  Protestant  heretics  that  ever  bearded  the 
Romish  Lion  in  his  Mexican  den.  The  city  re- 
mained in  Imperial  hands  till  we  left. 


PLOT  AGAINST  THE  WRITER'S   LIFE.         1 73 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

A   PLOT   AGAINST   THE   WRITER'S    LIFE MORE 

ABOUT   TEXAS. 

4 

fN  July,  1864,  being  in  trade  at  B m,  and 

having  been  for  two  years  doing  a  commis- 
sion, receiving,  and  forwarding  business,  be- 
sides buying  and  selling  on  his  own  account, 
the  writer  called  one  day  at  the  Collector's  office, 
in  the  court-house,  to  pay  the  quarter's  two  and 
a  half  per  cent,  taxes  on  sales.  The  Collector 
being  absent,  he  inquired  of  a  squad  of  men  at 
one  of  the  front  doors  of  the  court-house — 
among  whom  was  his  Honor  District  Judge 

S d — if  they  had  seen  the  Collector.     Just 

then  a  man  came  hurriedly  pressing  through 
the  squad,  and  approaching  us  asked  if  our 

name  was  N .     We  had  no  sooner  said  yes, 

than  he  struck  us  over  the  mouth,  cutting  both 
lips  nearly  through  on  the  teeth,  accompanying 
the  blow  with  the  denunciatory  charge:  "You 
d — d  scoundrel  and  thief,  you  have  stolen  $23 
from  my  wife." 

In  quick  succession  six  or  eight  more  blows 


174  FIVE   YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

followed  the  first,  when,  bringing  into  requisi- 
tion the  little  knowledge  of  the  "  gloves  "  ob- 
tained in  boyhood,  we  succeeded  in  warding 
them  off  His  poor  success  as  a  pugilist  drove 
him  to  the  use  of  an  office  chair,  whose  blows 
were  received  with  another.  Then  he  changed 
to  hurling  the  chair  at  us  with  all  vengeance, 
which  we  received  as  before,  until  both  chairs 
were  demolished.  By  this  time  we  were  in  the 
court-house  yard,  when  our  personal  friend, 
Deputy-sheriff  Hardin,  came  to  the  rescue, 

caught   Mr.   T d,   our   assailant,    under   his 

powerful  right  arm,  and  held  him  as  in  a  vise. 
By  this  time  our  assailant's  brother  appeared  on 
the  field,  and  ordered  the  Sheriff  to  release  his 
brother,  saying :  "  It  is  all  right  to  whip  the 
d—d  Yankee."  "No,  Sir,"  replied  the  officer, 
"if  you  want  to  hurt  Mr.  N.  you  must  hurt  me." 
He  released  him  on  a  promise  to  keep  the  peace. 
Meanwhile,  we  saw  a  dozen  men  circled  around 
us,  armed  with  revolvers.  We  could  see  the 
devil  in  each  eye  We  then  began  to  suspect  a 
plot.  But  what  could  the  charge  mean  ?  The 
explanation  had  come  to  us.  We  remembered 
the  clerk  had  said  some  lady  had  brought  to 
the  store  a  lot  of  dress  goods,  and  requested 
their  sale  for  her  account  at  certain  prices. 
That  he  had  sold  them  for  the  gross  amount  of 


PLOT  AGAINST  THE  WRITER'S   LIFE.        1/5 

#230,  taking  out  the  usual  ten  per  cent,  com- 
mission of  $23,  and  paid  her  the  balance.  We 
made  a  statement  of  the  facts  to  the  circle  of 
desperadoes,  and  then  retired  to  our  house. 

The  next  day,  from  a  couple  of  friends,  lead- 
ing men  in  times  of  peace,  but  nowhere  in  such 
times,  we  learned  what  the  plot  was.  The  low 
class  hated  our  presence  in  their  midst,  and 
business  success,  and  in  their  bitterness  would 
drive  us  from  the  country  or  kill  us.  The  $23 
matter  was  to  be  used  as  a  pretext  for  the  at- 
tack, hoping  thereby  to  provoke  retaliation  as  a 
further  excuse  for  shooting  us  down,  and  in  case 
of  failure  his  confederates  were  to  reinforce  him. 

They  seemed  to  calculate  pretty  safely  that  a" 
dozen  of  them,  at  least,  could  dispatch  one  un- 
armed Yankee.  A  calculation  very  different 
from  that  which  they  boasted  at  the  opening  of 
the  war,  that  "one  Southern  man  could  whip 
just  one  dozen  Yankees."  Yes,  our  assailant 
swore  vehemently  that  "  he  preferred  fighting 
Yankees  at  home  rather  than  in  the  field."  We 
replied,  "  very  likely,  if  unarmed." 

The  friends  advised  us  to  leave  the  place,  as 
they  feared  secret  assassination.  We  took  their 
advice,  and  left  for  San  Antonio,  one  hundred  and 
sixty-five  miles  west,  where  we  took  our  family 
in  a  few  weeks,  and  spent  the  winter  of  1864-5. 


FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

On  the  first  day  of  March,  1865,  the  writer  took 
an  ambulance  stage — a  sort  of  private  irregular 
affair — for  Matamoras,  having  for  company,  be- 
side the  driver,  a  lady  and  two  children,  going 
to  her  husband  there,  and  placed  under  our 
care.  The  driver  had  never  been  through  on 
the  route  before.  We  got  along  quite  well  the 
first  three  or  four  days,  having  a  change  of 
mules  each  day.  But  one  afternoon  we  took 
the  wrong  road,  and  brought  up  ten  o'clock  at 
night,  lost  in  the  middle  of,  so  to  speak,  a  shore- 
less prairie.  The  mules  exhausted,  the  driver 
turned  them  out  to  graze  for  the  night,  with 
forty  feet  of  stake  rope  betwen  each  pair. 

The  lady  and  her  children  were  settled  for  the 
night  in  the  stage,  and  the  driver  and  ourself 
took  the  accustomed  ground  bed.  At  break  of 
day  the  writer  awoke,  and  raised  his  head  to 
look  for  the  grazing  tmilos,  but  could  not  see 
nor  hear  them.  Suspecting  they  might  have 
taken  leave  of  absence,  the  driver  was  instantly 
awakened,  and  he  followed  the  rope  trail  in  the 
road  we  had  come  the  night  before,  a  half  a  mile 
back,  and  then  it  suddenly  changed  to  the  right 
oblique,  and  was  lost  in  the  trackless  prairie 
grass.  The  sun  was  two  hours  high,  and  it  was 
Sunday  morning.  It  felt  like  Sunday  all  round. 
No  sign  of  civilized  life  in  view  on  that  ocean 


PLOT   AGAINST   THE   WRITER'S    LIFE. 

prairie.  Here  and  there  could  be  seen,  forty 
arid  eighty  rods  off,  the  hungry  Spanish  wolf 
seated  in  quiet  watchfulness,  and  patiently  long- 
ing for  a  human  meal.  Our  provision  box  was 
nearly  empty ;  the  children  were  crying  for  wa- 
ter, and  we  had  none,  and  could  not  tell  when 
we  would  have  any.  Nine  o'clock  came,  and  no 
driver  nor  mules  yet.  He  had  gone  northward, 
and  the  writer  struck  out  toward  the  rising  sun 
in  search  of  the  missing  animals.  We  had  gone 
about  a  mile,  and  saw  a  mile  or  two  further  in 
the  distance  two  men  on  horseback,  driving  a 
large  herd  of  cattle  and  horses.  We  followed 
them  as  rapidly  as  our  pedestrian  qualities  would 
permit,  and  when  on  an  elevation,  within  possi- 
ble hailing  distance,  say  half  a  mile,  we  raised 
an  Indian  whoop,  and  imagined  ourselves  con- 
siderable of  an  Indian  in  the  whooping  line  just 
then,  as  there  was  a  strange  feeling  of  life  and 
death  about  it.  We  succeeded  in  making  them 
hear,  got  their  attention,  and  by  waving  a  white 
signal,  succeeded  in  drawing  them  to  us.  They 
were  Mexicanos,  not  able  to  understand  a  word 
of  English.  Fortunately  we  could  make  them 
understand  the  situation,  in  their  own  language, 
the  Spanish.  We  gave  them  two  Spanish  dol- 
lars to  go  and  hunt  the  mules.  They  were  gone 
an  hour  and  returned,  handing  back  our  money, 
12 


178  'FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

saying  the  umbra  had  the  mules.  We  took  but 
one  dollar,  giving  them  the  other  for  their  hon- 
esty. "  Adios,  Senor,"  and  off  they  rode.  Just 
then  we  saw  the  driver  coming  with  the  mules, 
two  miles  off.  At  first  they  looked  like  one  im- 
mense animal  about  forty  feet  high,  mounted  by 
a  man  twenty  feet  more.  This  illusive  effect  was 
produced  by  the  prairie  mirage.  About  noon 
the  mules  were  in  harness  again  and  moving. 

At  four  in  the  afternoon  we  reached  water  at 
a  Mexican  Ranche.  The  children  were  nearly 
famished  from  thirst,  as  they  had  been  twenty- 
four  hours  without  water.  And  here  we  struck 
the  lost  road  again,  twenty-eight  miles  from  Rio 
Grande  City,  on  the  Rio  Grande,  called  Ring- 
gold  Barracks  during  the  Mexican  war  with  the 
United  States,  named  for  Major  Ringgold,  who 
was  killed  there. 

We  passed  down  the  river  on  the  Texas  side 
with  a  fresh  team,  crossing  it  by  ferry,  at  Edin- 
burg,  and  then  we  took  the  stage  on  the  Mexi- 
can side,  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  to  Mata- 
moras.  We  made  that  distance  on  the  finest 
road  we  ever  saw,  in  just  twelve  hours.  The 
next  stage  that  came  through  was  captured,  and 
robbed  by  the  cut-throat  Cortinas,  who  is  digni- 
fied in  the  military  world  with  the  title  of  Gene- 
ral. The  splendid  stage  line  was  thereby  com- 


PLOT  AGAINST  THE  WRITER'S   LIFE. 

pelled  to  haul  off,  to  the  great  annoyance  and 
detriment  of  the  traveling  public. 

We  will  here  record  a  tragic  incident  to  illus- 
trate the  savage  character  of  this  half-breed  semi- 
barbarian  Cortinas.  But  it  is  quite  enough  to 
mantle  with  patriotic  shame  the  American  cheek, 
to  know  that  a  high  Federal  officer  was  particeps 
criminis  in  the  foul  play. 

Don  Manuel  G.  Rejon  was  a  Spanish  gentle- 
man, of  fine  personal  appearance,  in  whose  veins 
ran  the  pure  Castilian  tide,  an  eminent  lawyer, 
and  a  member  of  the  Mexican  Congress.  In 
April,  1864,  owing  to  the  political  disturbances 
which  occurred  in  the  States  of  Nueva  Leon 
and  Coahuila,  he  fled  to  Brownsville,  Texas,  and 
thought  himself  secure  under  the  protection  of 
the  United  States  flag. 

Jose  M.  Iglesias,  one  of  President  Juarez's 
Ministers,  was  at  this  time  in  Matamoras,  and 
solicited  the  extradition  of  Rejon.  General  F. 
J.  H.,  commanding  the  Federal  forces  on  the 
lower  Rio  Grande,  turned  him  over  to  the  Mexi- 
can authorities. 

The  surrender  of  a  political  refugee  like  Re- 
jon, that  he  might  be  put  to  death  by  his 
enemies,  never  occurred  before  in  the  United 
States.  The  famous,  or  rather  infamous,  Corti- 
nas was  then  Governor  of  the  State  of  Tamauli- 


l8O  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

pas,  and  in  obedience  to  the  arrogant  orders  of 
Minister  Iglesias,  caused  him  to  be  shot.  A 
father's  prayers,  a  woe-stricken  wife's  tears,  and 
the  piteous  wailings  of  his  children,  did  not 
avail  to  save  the  unfortunate  Rejon. 

General  H.,  after  having  surrendered  Rejon, 
applied  for  the  extradition  of  a  certain  Con- 
federate agent,  who  resided  at  Monterey;  but 
his  wishes  were  not  gratified  by  the  Mexican 
authorities.  We  believe  the  name  of  the  agent 
was  J.  A.  Quintero. 

The  surrender  of  the  fated  Rejon  was  a  gross 
outrage  upon  the  principles  of  civilized  warfare, 
and  was  done  with  the  moral  foreknowledge 
of  the  bloody  fate  that  awaited  him.  The  act 
was  as  if  surrendered  to  the  tender  mercies  of 
Indians!  And  though  General  H.  might  have 
been  actuated  by  a  desire  to  secure  the  surren- 
der of  the  Confederate  agent  Quintero,  yet  this 
furnishes  no  palliation  for  the  unprecedented 
action.  The  act  remains  a  blistering  stigma  upon 
the  General,  as  it  should ;  and  is  an  unvarnished 
disgrace  to  the  United  States  service — inexcusa- 
ble, inhuman,  and  savagely  mean;  showing  that 
even  a  Federal  General,  in  one  instance  at  least, 
could  hob-a-nob  in  cut-throatism  with  the  infa- 
mous Cortinas.  In  our  view,  it  was  a  high- 
handed stroke  of  arrogance,  unauthorized  by 


PLOT  AGAINST  THE  WRITER'S   LIFE.         l8l 

military  precedent  or  necessity,  and  should  have 
resulted  in  cashiering  General  H.,  and  dismiss- 
ing him  from  the  service  in  disgrace. 

In  a  few  weeks  the  writer's  family  came  to 
him  in  Matamoras;  five  hundred  miles  they 
came  alone,  with  a  lady  traveling  companion, 
through  a  wilderness  country,  camping  out  four- 
teen nights,  the  Spanish  Coyotas  making  night 
hideous  with  their  Scottish  bagpipe  combination 
of  screeching,  howling  sounds.  The  country 
covered  much  of  the  way  with  Mesquite  and 
Cactus  "  Chaparral."  Very  little  water,  except 
in  puddles  by  the  wayside.  Our  youngest  child, 
eighteen  months  old,  sickened  from  the  water, 
and  nearly  died  at  Matamoras.  The  overdone 
condition  of  Mrs.  N.,  from  personal  exposure, 
mental  anxiety  and  fear,  she  has  never  fully  re- 
covered from.  We  are  vain  enough  to  think 
that  few  women  could  have  shown  equal  hero- 
ism under  similar  experience,  and  lived  through 
it.  Doubtless  the  experience  of  previous  years 
in  the  Methodist  Itinerancy  had  prepared  her 
for  such  emergencies.  We  know  not,  indeed, 
what  we  can  endure  until  put  to  the  test. 

Only  two  weeks  before  making  this  journey, 
the  family  had  been  flooded  out  in  San  Antonio 
by  the  sudden  rise  in  the  San  Antonio  River, 
eighteen  feet  in  two  hours.  They  barely  es- 


1 82  FIVE   YEARS    IN   TEXAS. 

caped  with  their  lives,  losing  nearly  everything 
in  the  line  of  household  goods — carpets,  five 
feather  beds,  mattresses,  a  lot  of  elegant  parlor 
books,  and  among  them  an  elegant  gold-clasp 
family  Bible,  containing  the  family  record,  worth 
thirty  dollars  and  otherwise  valuable  as  a  gift 
of  former  years.  The  flood  was  caused  by  a 
sudden  discharge  of  an  immense  water-spout 
from  the  heavens,  a  few  miles  above  the  city  in 
the  San  Antonio  Valley.  The  water-spout  had 
come  from  the  Gulf,  a  hundred  and  fifty  miles  or 
more,  and  discharged  itself  in  the  valley,  throw- 
ing the  river  over  its  banks.  The  writer  was  in 
Mexico  at  the  time. 


CHAPTER    XIX. 

LEE'S   SURRENDER. EFFECT    UPON    TEXAS    SOL- 
DIERS.— WRITER'S  RETURN  TO  TEXAS. 

E  were  in  Matamoras  when  Lee's  surren- 
der took  place  in  Virginia.  As  soon  as 
the  news  reached  Texas  the  Confederate 
soldiers  began  to  desert  in  squads — the 
desperado  class — organize  into  predatory  bands, 
roam  at  will  over  the  country,  and  rob  every- 
body and  everything  they  could  lay  hands  on. 
Took  special  delight  in  robbing  Northern  mer- 
chants in  the  country.  They  broke  into  the  wri- 
ter's store  at  B m  one  night,  and  carried  off 

three  to  four  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods ; 
and  that  was  the  end  of  it.  There  was  no  chance 
for  legal  redress,  for  the  condition  of  the  country 
was  that  of  lawless  disorder.  It  was  not  cer- 
tainly known  who  the  robbing  parties  were,  but 
if  it  had  been,  it  would  have  been  considered 
guilty  knowledge  by  them,  and  probably  cost 
one  his  life. 

On  the  isth  day  of  June,  1865,  we  took  pas- 


1 84  FIVE   YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

sage  with  our  family,  on  a  Government  transport, 
and  came  to  New  Orleans.  Thence  on  July 
1st  we  secured  passage  by  the  "Star  Line"  of 
steamers,  for  the  family,  to  New  York,  and  in  a 
few  days  returned  ourself  to  Texas,  to  gather 
up,  as  far  as  possible,  the  fragments  of  business. 
Landed  at  Galveston  just  behind  Hamilton,  Mili- 
tary Governor  of  the  State.  Followed  him  up 

country,  and  on  reaching  B m,  found  Major 

Curtis,  from  Southern  Illinois,  in  command  of 
the  post,  with  two  companies  of  troops. 

After  an  absence  of  a  year,  we  were  back 
again  on  the  ground  of  former  trials  and  dangers. 
But  now,  with  an  assurance  against  fear,  the  first 
thing  we  saw  was  a  squad  of  men  sunning  them- 
selves on  the  front  gallery  of  our  old  dwelling. 

house.    Among  them  was  the  man  T d,  who 

had  made  the  attack  on  our  life  the  year  before. 
We  walked  up  and  saluted  them,  saying,  "  How 
are  you,  gentlemen  ?  I  see  a  new  order  of  things 
here  since  I  left ;  how  do  you  like  it  ?"  Did  you 
ever  see  the  downcast  look  of  a  sheep  thief? 
Then  you  can  imagine  how  some  of  these  scala- 
wags appeared.  Some  never  looked  up  again 
after  the  first  glance.  Our  assailant  paled,  and 
looked  as  if  his  heart  were  quoting  the  inter- 
rogatory of  the  ancient  devils :  "  Hast  thou 
come  to  torment  me  before  my  time  ?" 


FUNERAL  SERVICE.  185 

With  one  or  two  gentlemen  we  passed  to  the 
Court  House,  where  Major  Curtis  had  head- 
quarters. Took  a  birdseye  view  of  the  situa- 
tion, and  then  went  to  the  house  of  our  North 
Carolina  friend,  a  Union  man,  and  who  believed 
in  Sam  Houston.  He  could  not  well  be  other- 
wise, for  he  had  been  so  fortunate  as  to  secure  a 
genuine  New  England  lady  for  a  wife. 

Sunday  morning  we  were  passing  the  soldiers* 
quarters,  and  saw  them  handing  a  coffin  into  a 
wagon.  We  halted,  and  addressing  the.  gentle- 
man giving  directions,  found  it  was  Major  Cur- 
tis. He  told  us  the  deceased  was  a  fine  young 
man  from  Southern  Illinois,  whose  praise  was 
upon  the  lips  of  all  his  soldier  comrades.  The 
indications  were,  that  they  were  burying  with- 
out religious  rites,  and  on  inquiry  we  learned 
they  had  no  chaplain,  and  were  not  inclined  to 
ask  the  services  of  a  resident  clergyman.  We 
informed  the  Major  that  we  sometimes  acted  in 
such  a  capacity,  and  any  service  we  could  ren- 
der should  be  cheerfully  given.  On  his  ap- 
pointment we  preached  a  funeral  discourse  in 
the  Court  House,  at  3  P.  M.,  that  day.  They 
buried  the  Christian  soldier  boy  a  thousand 
miles  away  from  home,  where  all  were  strange 
and  few  were  kind. 

The  next  day  the  Major  desired  an  interview 


1 86  FIVE  YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

with  us  at  his  office,  to  obtain  information  about 
certain  parties  living  thereabouts.  Here  was  an 
opportunity  to  relate  our  grievances,  and  have 
them  redressed  if  we  desired.  We  related  the 
case  to  him  and  he  proposed  to  arrest  and  pun- 
ish the  party ;  but  we  said  no,  that  we  were  will- 
ing to  leave  the  scoundrel  to  the  handlings  of  a 
just  Providence ! 

Bidding  the  Major  "farewell,"  and  a  "God 
bless  you  "  one  day,  we  took  stage  for  Austin, 
the  capital  of  the  State,  and  headquarters  of  the 
Governor.  Passed  up  the  valley  of  the  Colorado 
River,  which  we  had  frequently  to  ford  and  ferry- 
in  a  distance  of  eighty  miles,  before  reaching 
the  capital. 

The  Governor  was  already  bivouacked  in  the 
State  domicile,  and  two  regiments  were  encamped 
hard  by  the  city.  Judging  from  appearances, 
his  Excellency  meant  business.  Here  we  met, 
and  became  the  guest  of  Rev.  Josiah  Whipple, 
elder  brother  of  the  Rev.  H.  Whipple,  now  of 
Chicago.  He  had  once  been  in  the  Methodist 
connection  in  Illinois  as  long  ago  as  1840,  and 
before  that  date.  Went  to  Texas  in  a  mission- 
ary capacity,  in  company  with  the  Rev.  John 
Clark,  who  died  of  cholera  while  in  pastoral 
charge  of  Clark  Street  M.  E.  Church,  of  Chi- 
cago, some  years  ago. 


BLUE  COAT  IN  THE  PULPIT.       l8/ 

He  insisted  we  must  not  take  the  stage  for 
San  Antonio  that  day — Saturday — but  remain 
with  him  over  Sunday,  and  perform  pulpit  serv- 
ice for  him.  We  did  so.  But  on  entering  the 
pulpit  Sunday  morning,  we  were  unfortunate  in 
a  portion  of  our  wardrobe,  in  having  on  a  blue 
flannel  sack  coat  instead  of  a  "  Confederate  gray  " 
or  black,  or  home-made  jeans,  or  some  other 
color  than  blue.  Blue  was  as  enraging  to  the 
secesh  eyes  of  some  of  the  fair  ones  in  the  audi- 
ence as  red  is  to  the  eyes  of  a  turkey  gobbler. 
They  could  not  endure  the  blue  coat  as  they  had 
seen  the  "  boys  in  blue  "  that  morning,  on  their 
way  to  church,  and  judged  we  were  one  of  the 
regimental  chaplains  of  the  Union  troops  en- 
camped near  the  city.  So  six  or  eight  of  them, 
led  by  an  elderly  amazon,  filed  out  of  church 
while  the  " blue  coat"  was  on  his  knees  in  silent 
devotion  in  the  pulpit. 

On  rising  and  being  seated  in  the  desk,  we 
observed  a  little  excitement  at  the  door,  between 
a  couple  of  gentlemen  and  several  ladies,  which 
we  afterward  learned  was  the  effort  of  the  men 
to  get  the  ladies  cooled  off  and  back  into  church 
again,  which  they  succeeded  in  doing,  except 
the  old  woman.  She  declared  she  would  never 
hear  a  bhie  coat  preach  as  long  as  she  lived,  and 
home  she  went.  A  few  days  thereafter  we  were 


1 88  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

told  that  the  old  lady  and  a  daughter  or  two  were 
sweeping  the  sidewalk  down  town  with  their 
long  dress  trails,  and  when  coming  to  the  United 
States  flag,  suspended  in  front  of  headquarters, 
and  over  the  sidewalk,  they  stepped  to  the  mid- 
dle of  the  street,  and  thus  avoided  the  humilia- 
tion of  passing  under  the  hated  "Stars  and 
Stripes." 

Their  contemptuous  conduct  was  noticed,  and 
reported  to  the  post-commandant,  who  sent  a 
posse  after  them,  had  them  brought  back,  and 
made  them  march  to  and  fro  under  the  flag  for 
several  minutes,  while  the  band  played  the  na- 
tional airs  of"  Star  Spangled  Banner  "  and  "  Yan- 
kee Doodle."  And  then  they  were  dismissed 
with  the  wholesome  admonition,  "to  show  more 
respect  in  the  future  for  the  old  flag  which  had 
done  them  good,  and  not  evil,  all  their  days." 

A  Sunday  or  two  after  we  noticed  the  old 
lady  in  church  again,  where  she  listened  re- 
spectfully to  the  preaching  of  the  offensive  blue 
coat,  and  we  thought  the  thorough  Union  medi- 
cal treatment  she  had  received  had  done  her 
good,  as  her  bilious  or  rebellious  condition 
seemed  very  much  reduced,  and  the  patient 
rapidly  convalescing  toward  a  love  of  the  "  red, 
white  and  blue'' 

We  visited  San  Antonio,  and  on  reaching  New 


ROBBERY.  189 

Braunfels,  thirty  miles  from  there,  a  fine  German 
town  of  five  or  six  thousand  inhabitants,  we 
found  at  the  hotel  a  man  just  in  from  the  bush, 
where  he  had  been  met,  robbed,  stripped,  and 
tied  to  a  tree,  and  there  left  to  perish  by  hunger 
and  thirst,  or  to  be  the  prey  of  bears,  wolves, 
and  panthers  from  the  mountains  near  by.  Judg- 
ing from  the  cast-off  clothing  they  left  behind, 
the  robbers  appeared  to  be  deserters  from  the 
Federal  camps  at  San  Antonio.  Fortunately 
some  passer-by  heard  his  cries  of  distress,  and 
went  and  released  the  man  from  his  perilous 
situation.  The  robbers  had  taken  from  him  a 
gold  watch,  $175  in  gold,  and  a  good  suit  of 
clothes  in  exchange  for  some  rags  of  blue,  with 
which  the  victim  in  part  covered  himself  so  as 
to  get  into  town.  In  their  haste  the  robbers 
left  in  the  clothing  an  old  silver  watch,  which, 
with  the  clothing,  we  took  and  turned  over  to 
the  General  in  command  at  San  Antonio.  He 
kindly  thanked  us  for  the  interest  we  had  taken 
in  the  matter,  and  said  that  information  had  been 
lodged  that  two  cavalry-men  were  missing  from 
camp,  and  presumed  these  were  the  parties; 
and  said  he  should  send  out  a  detachment,  and 
if  possible  capture  them.  We  subsequently 
learned  they  were  not  captured.  You  might  as 
well  look  for  a  needle  in  a  haymow  as  to  hunt 


1 90  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

for  deserters  in  the  forests,  chaparral,  and  moun- 
tains of  Texas. 

We  returned  to  Austin  the  sick  guest  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Whipple,  three  weeks  in.  the  fellow- 
ship of  the  sufferings  of  the  ancient  Job. 


GOV.   HAMILTON. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

i 

GOV.     HAMILTON THE    THIRTY   NEROS THE    OLD 

GERMAN   AND    HIS   WIFE THE    FIGHT   WITH    IN- 
DIANS— A  NATIVE  TEXAN'S  OPINION  OF  GERMANS. 

JjjEFORE  we  left  Austin  Governor  Hamilton 
sent  out  a  strong  detachment  to  the  adjoin- 
ing county  on  the  north,  and  had  arrested 
sixteen  members  of  the  vigilance  committee, 
whose  whole  number  was  thirty,  and  whose 
business  had  been  during  the  war  to  hunt  up 
and  kill  Union  men.  The  sixteen  were  brought 
to  Austin  and  lodged  in  prison  to  await  trial. 
Eight  of  them  turned  States'  evidence,  and  tes- 
tified that  the  thirty  had  killed,  in  their  own 
county,  exactly  their  own  number.  They  showed 
the  officers  where  fourteen  of  the  victims  were 
buried,  in  one  place. 

We  were  invited  to  dine  one  day  with  a  friend 
at  the  house  of  their  legal  counsel.  From  him  we 
gathered  the  facts.  He  said  that  he  considered 
their  defense  desperate  to  the  last  degree;  but 
he  was  bound  by  his  professional  oath  and  honor 
to  see  that  they  had  a  just  and  impartial  trial. 


FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

One  of  the  victims  of  the  fiendish  malice  of 
these  thirty  Neros  was  an  old,  white-haired 
German,  eighty  years  of  age,  who  was  suspected 
of  Union  proclivities.  They  went  to  the  house 
where  the  old  German  and  his  aged  wife  were 
living  together  alone,  in  peace  and  quiet,  and 
made  the  pretext  to  the  old  lady  that  they  want- 
ed her  husband  as  an  important  witness  in  some 
case,  which  partly  quieted  her  fears.  They  placed 
the  old  man  in  the  saddle,  and  ordered  him  to 
ride  in  front.  As  he  was  passing  out  the  gate 
of  the  front  yard,  the  villains  shot  the  old  man 
in  the  back,  and  he  fell  to  the  earth  dead !  The 
old  lady  standing  in  her  door-way  saw  it  all, 
gave  one  long,  wild  scream,  and  fell  forward  to 
the  ground!  The  wretches  left,  nor  let  the 
grass  grow  under  their  feet  till  safe  in  their 
hiding  places. 

The  thunderbolt  of  insanity  had  passed  through 
the  soul  of  the  wretched  old  wife,  and  when  we 
left  Austin  she  was  a  hopeless  maniac  in  the  In- 
sane asylum.  We  wish  to  say  that  these  things 
were  generally  unknown  outside  the  localities 
where  they  transpired  during  the  war. 

To  the  northwest  of  Austin,  a  hundred  miles 
away,  we  heard  the  report  that  a  serious  fight 
had  occurred  between  the  State  Militia  and  two 
or  three  hundred  Indians,  who  had  come  down 


FIGHT   WITH    INDIANS.  193 

from  the  mountains  to  steal  horses  and  cattle. 
That  the  Indians  fought  in  ambush,  and  made 
many  of  the  whites  bite  the  dust.  But  when  the 
lying  spirit  of  the  war  was  over,  the  truth  came 
out  that  these  Indians  were  a  colony  of  German 
refugees  fleeing  from  Texas  persecution  to  Mex- 
ico. But  few  of  them  ever  reached  there. 

The  German  population  of  Texas  were  gen- 
erally understood  to  have  Union  sympathies, 
and  were  therefore  cordially  hated  by  original 
Texans.  We  were  riding  one  day  into  the 
country  with  a  genuine  Texan,  and  coming  to  a 
heavy  German  settlement,  he  called  our  atten- 
tion to  their  fine  farms  and  substantial  improve- 
ments, and  said,  "  See  the  Germans  squatted 
everywhere  on  the  best  lands  in  our  State.  I'll 
tell  you  what  I  would  do  if  in  my  power.  I 
would  compel  them  to  leave  the  rich  land  and 
go  to  the  sand  hills  and  sand  prairies.  I  don't 
think  they  have  any  business  on  these  lands, 
and  right  under  the  noses  of  the  better  class  of 
citizens." 

This  was  an  occasion  when  we  regarded  the 
"discretion"  of  thinking  without  speaking  "the 
better  part  of  valor."  But  we  confess  that  we 
never  felt  more  disgraced  by  the  company  we 
were  in.  We  passed  out  to  his  plantation.  His 
house  was  scarcely  fit  for  a  horse-stable,  and 
13 


194  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

everything  was  in  filth  and  confusion  in  and  out 
of  doors.  We  thought  the  meanest  German  in 
the  settlement  his  king  in  industry,  neatness  and 
thrift.  One  of  the  most  flourishing  towns  in 
Texas  is  New  Braunfels.  It  is  thoroughly  Ger- 
man in  its  original  settlement  and  growth.  As 
already  stated,  it  is  located  thirty  miles  east  of 
San  Antonio,  and  probably  on  the  shortest  river 
in  the  world,  the  Comal,  two  miles  long.  Just 
to  the  north  of  the  town,  and  running  west,  is  a 
range  of  mountains.  At  the  base  of  this  moun- 
tain range,  the  Comal  rises  from  the  bosom  of 
the  earth,  from  several  large  springs,  which  flow 
together  within  a  distance  of  a  few  rods,  has  no 
tributary,  descends  fifty  to  seventy-five  feet  within 
the  two  miles,  and  then  falls  over  a  bluff,  making 
the  best  water  power  in  the  State,  and  equal  to 
any  in  the  world  for  the  quantity  of  water.  Then 
loses  itself  in  a  confluence  with  the  Guadalupe 
River,  which  still  further  north  rises  in  the  same 
sudden  way.  And  on  this  stream  are  several 
fine  water  powers.  The  waters  of  the  two  rivers 
will  equal  in  volume  the  Rock  River  of  Illinois, 
The  San  Antonio  head-waters  are  formed  from 
several  sudden  springs  three  miles  above  the 
city.  The  San  Marcos,  still  east  of  all  of  those 
before  named,  originates  in  the  same  way,  and 
all  of  them  furnish  an -abundance  of  water  power 


DRY  ATMOSPHERE.  1 95 

all  along  their  courses.  And  when  it  comes  to 
the  character  of  their  waters,  the  writer  must 
confess  that  he  has  never  seen  their  equal  in  any 
country.  They  are  as  limpid  as  the  finest  spring 
water  ever  seen.  We  have  thrown  a  five  cent 
silver  piece  into  one  of  the  San  Antonio  springs, 
and  seen  it  on  the  pebbly  bottom,  fifteen  feet 
down  easily,  and  the  depth  did  not  seem  to  the 
eye  more  than  five  or  six  feet. 

The  country,  where  these  streams  rise,  is  from 
six  to  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
s.ea,  and  only  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  ocean.  The 
result  is  a  clear,  dry,  salubrious  atmosphere.  So 
much  so  that  if  standing  on  a  mountain  top, 
twelve  miles  west  of  San  Antonio,  in  a  clear  day, 
one's  vision  can  penetrate  westward  two  hundred 
and  fifty  miles  across  the  Rio  Grande  to  the 
mountains  of  Monterey,  in  Mexico. 


196  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXAS. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

NORTHERN   TEXAS. 

>N  this  closing  chapter  of  our  book,  we  have 
thought  that  a  brief  outline  sketch  of  the 
topography,  climate,  soil,  and  productions 
of  Texas  might  not  be  uninteresting  to  the 
reader.  And  in  order  to  this,  we  shall  speak 
first  of  its  grand  geographical  divisions,  as  char- 
acterized and  distinguished  by  peculiar  products. 
And  first  we  will  speak  of  Northern  Texas, 
which  is  distinguished  for  being  the  wheat  re- 
gion of  the  State,  The  wheat  region  proper 
embraces  about  thirty  counties,  of  which  Dallas 
County  may  be  regarded  as  the  center,  contain- 
ing about  thirty  thousand  square  miles.  The 
rich  black  soil  is  especially  adapted  to  wheat- 
growing.  It  yields  in  ordinary  seasons,  and 
under  the  imperfect  cultivation  that  it  gets  as 
yet,  twenty-one  bushels  to  the  acre  as  a  mean 
average ;  and  in  occasional  instances  the  quality 
is  so  superior  as  to  weigh  seventy-two  pounds 


NORTHERN   TEXAS. 

to  the  bushel.  After  the  first  year  of  the  late 
civil  war  the  supply  of  flour  was  principally 
from  Northern  Texas.  Its  quality  was  su- 
perior to  any  flour  we  have  ever  seen  in  Illi- 
nois. The  soil  is  equally  favorable  to  all  the 
other  cereals  that  are  produced  in  the  Northern 
States.  The  soil  on  and  near  the  Upper  Brazos 
is  reddish,  and  is  now  considered  the  best  for 
wheat  on  account  of  the  solution  of  gypsum 
that  it  holds,  and  which  is  regarded  as  an  im- 
portant quality  in  a  wheat-producing  soil.  It 
\vears  better  and  longer  than  other  soils. 

The  southeastern  and  southern-central  coun- 
ties are  the  best  cotton-growing  region,  the 
most  fertile  of  all  lands  in  the  State,  and  for  any 
thing,  like  an  equal  area,  the  best  for  cotton  that 
can  be  found  in  the  world.  The  cotton  coun- 
ties proper  constitute  about  one-quarter  of  the 
State.  The  region  also  includes  several  millions 
of  acres  of  sugar  lands,  often  quite  equal  to 
those  of  Louisiana.  Sugar  has  been  produced 
in  considerable  quantities  near  the  mouths  of 
the  Brazos  and  Colorado  Rivers. 

The  topographical  face  of  the  country,  in  the 
cotton  and  sugar  section,  is  quite  uniform  on 
the  coast  belt  of  it.  Galveston  and  Lavaca  are, 
respectively,  ten  and  twenty-four  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea;  Houston,  which  is  fifty  miles 


198  FIVE   YEARS   IN   TEXAS. 

from  the  former  port,  is  sixty  feet;  Columbus, 
which  is  eighty-five  miles  from  the  coast,  is  two 
hundred  and  fifty  feet ;  Gonzales,  something 
over  one  hundred  miles,  is  two  hundred  and 
seventy  feet.  This  shows  a  very  moderate  rise, 
of  only  a  foot  or  two  per  mile,  from  the  coast 
far  inland. 

San  Antonio,  one  hundred  and  forty  miles 
from  the  sea,  and  outside  of  the  cotton  region 
west,  is  six  hundred  and  thirty-five  feet  above 
sea-level.  The  table  lands  and  the  desert,  called 
Llano  Estacado  (Staked  Plain),  in  Northwestern 
Texas,  are  two  thousand  and  two  thousand  five 
hundred  feet,  and  some  elevations  are  five  thou- 
sand feet  above  the  sea. 

In  point  of  climate  Texas  claims  to  be  called 
the  Italy  of  America.  The  mean  temperature 
corresponds,  and  is  equally  clear  and  glowing. 
Its  peculiarities  over  other  climates  of  latitude 
are  found  in  its  unwavering  summer  sea  breeze 
and  winter  northers.  The  first  is  a  delightful 
alleviation  of  its  summer  heats,  flowing  each  day 
from  the  Gulf  as  the  sun's  rays  become  oppres- 
sive, and  extending  remotely  inland  to  the  fur- 
thest settlements  with  the  same  trustworthy 
steadiness.  It  continues  through  the  evening, 
and  has  so  great  effect  that,  however  hot  the 
day  may  have  been,  the  nights  are  always  cool 


NORTHERN   TEXAS.  1 99 

enough  to  demand  a  blanket,  and  yield  invigor- 
ating rest. 

The  severe  northers  occur  from  December  to 
April.  They  come  with  varying  durations — 
from  a  few  hours  to  two  or  three  days,  and  sel- 
dom extend  beyond  the  general  period  of  forty 
days.  The  rapid  reduction  of  temperature  from 
seventy-five  to  thirty-five  degrees,  and  the  driv- 
ing wind,  are  keenly  felt.  When  accompanied 
with  heavy  rains  and  sleet,  as  is  sometimes  the 
case,  not  often,  the  cattle  suffer  and  die  off  in 
large  numbers.  These  northers  are  not  un- 
healthy, but  invigorating,  and  do  not  cause  nor 
aggravate  pulmonary  diseases.  Pneumonia  is 
sometimes  developed  by  them,  but  with  half  the 
caution  that  we  exercise  in  the  winters  of  the 
North,  its  attacks  may  be  avoided. 

As  in  all  new,  warm,  and  highly  fertile  coun- 
tries, the  low  rich  river  bottoms,  especially  of 
Southern  Texas,  which  are  covered  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  semi-tropical  vegetation,  are  unhealthy 
to  unacclimated  persons.  The  higher  lands  are 
healthy,  if  the  emigrant  make  a  proper  disposi- 
tion of  himself,  which  is  too  frequently  other- 
wise. The  atmosphere  of  the  lower  Brazos,  at 
Richmond  and  thereabouts,  was  particularly 
poisonous  to  the  writer.  Three  days'  residence 
there  would  suffice  to  bring  on  chills  and  fever, 


20O  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

and  then  a  retreat  of  a  week  up  the  country 
seventy-five  miles  would  suppress  them. 

San  Antonio  has  been  in  former  years  quite  a 
favorite  resort  for  consumptive  invalids  seeking 
the  improvement  of  health.  The  native  Mex- 
icans used  to  tell  a  story  of  its  heathfulness  that 
has  the  Yankee  smack  to  it.  They  said  some 
travelers,  approaching  San  Antonio,  met  three 
disconsolate-looking  fellows,  who  were  hasten- 
ing away  from  the  city.  They  asked  them  what 
was  the  matter,  and  where  they  were  going. 
They  replied  that  they  had  met  with  reverses, 
that  they  wished  to  die,  and  were  going  to  some 
place  where  they  could  die. 

Yellow  fever  is  imported  into  the  coast  towns 
as  it  is  into  New  York  and  Philadelphia,  but  it 
does  not  originate  there.  Its  ravages,  as  would 
be  expected  in  such  a  climate,  are  sometimes 
severe,  but  it  does  not  penetrate  into  the  upland 
and  hilly  regions  any  more  than  it  does  into  the 
interior  of  New  York  or  Pennsylvania. 

Times  of  Planting  and  Harvesting. — Plowing 
can  be  done  in  every  month  of  the  year.  This 
is  an  immense  advantage  by  way  of  economiz- 
ing labor.  It  is  done  in  January  and  February 
for  the  field  crops.  Early  garden  vegetables  are 
planted  in  January.  In  February  the  prairies 
are  green,  corn  mostly  planted,  and  oats,  bar- 


NORTHERN   TEXAS.  2OI 

ley,  peas,  etc.,  are  sown.  In  March  fresh  pas- 
turage is  quite  abundant,  though  the  old  has 
not  failed  during  the  winter,  and  about  half  the 
corn  is  planted.  In  April  the  balance.  Then 
sheep  are  shorn,  and  potatoes,  peas,  and  wild 
berries  appear  in  market  early  in  the  month.  In 
May  small  fruits  are  gathered;  apricots  ripen 
toward  its  close.  In  June  corn  is  ready  for 
harvesting,  and  peaches  are  ripe.  In  July  first 
cotton-picking  comes.  We  have  seen  new  bales 
of  cotton  for  sale  in  Galveston  on  the  4th  of 
July.  Cotton-picking  continues  to  the  close  of 
November.  December  is  a  plowing,  cleaning, 
and  picking-up  month. 

The  above  statements  refer  to  average  seasons 
in  the  central  and  southern  latitudes  of  the  State, 
and  to  the  ordinary  culture  of  the  main  crops. 
Some  of  them  might  be  grown  earlier,  and 
would  ripen  if  not  planted  till  months  later. 
Most  garden  vegetables  can  be  planted  through- 
out the  season,  so  as  to  afford  a  constant  repeti- 
tion of  them  for  the  table. 

Wool  Production. — Wool  husbandry  is  a  large 
and  important  interest  in  Texas.  Sheep  can  be 
grown  with  high  profit  for  domestic  uses  on  the 
moderately  elevated  dry  sound  lands  of  all  parts 
of  the  State.  But  the  sheep  region  proper — that 
where  the  pasturage  is  best  adapted  to  them, 


2O2  FIVE  YEARS    IN   TEXAS. 

both  in  summer  and  winter,  where  with  safety 
and  health  they  can  be  herded  in  great  flocks, 
and  where  the  land  is  cheap,  and  wool  can  be 
most  cheaply  grown  for  exportation — lies  in 
Western  Texas.  It  is  bounded  on  the  east  and 
west  by  the  Guadalupe  and  Nueces  Rivers,  and 
so  far  as  yet  experimented,  north  by  the  Col- 
orado River,  say  from  Bastrop  upward. 

South  of  San  Antonio  the  sheep  region  is 
generally  level,  descending  with  a  moderate 
slope  to  the  coast.  But  the  hilly  country,  com- 
mencing five  or  six  miles  north  of  San  Antonio, 
is  regarded  par  excellence  as  the  sheep  region. 
The  hills  further  north  become  more  abrupt, 
with  narrower  valleys  between,  and  large  riveir 
bottoms  are  reached.  The  present  center  of  the 
sheep  region  is  Kendall  County,  appropriately 
named  after  the  late  George  Wilkins  Kendall, 
the  senior  editor  of  the  New  Orleans  Picayune, 
one  of  the  best  conducted  and  most  readable 
newspapers  in  the  United  States.  He  and 
Horace  Greeley  served  their  apprenticeship  to- 
gether in  the  office  of  the  Concord  (N.  H.) 
Statesman.  In  1834  he  went  to  New  Orleans 
and  established  the  Picayune,  and  entered  on  his 
career  of  success. 

He  went  to  the  Mexican  war  under  Ben  Mc- 
Culloch  with  the  Texas  Rangers.  He  died 


NORTHERN   TEXAS.  2O3 

October  22,  1868,  at  his  residence  in  Kendall 
County,  thirty  miles  north  of  San  Antonio. 

He  was  the  great  sheep-farmer  and  flock-mas- 
ter of  the  South,  the  pioneer  of  that  branch  of 
husbandry  in  Texas ;  and  he  did  more  than  all 
others  to  introduce,  foster,  and  instruct  the  peo- 
ple in  its  management  in  a  region  so  adapted 
by  nature  to  its  profitable  pursuit. 

Kendall  County  and  a  dozen  counties  around 
it  are  supplied  with  streams  of  water  in  abun- 
dance, clear,  and  healthful,  and  springs,  some 
of  them,  of  great  volume.  On  the  larger  streams 
is  a  good  supply  of  timber  of  various  kinds. 
There  are  large  groves  of  post-oak,  affording 
mast  for  innumerable  hogs.  The  hills  are  gen- 
erally bare  of  vegetation  except  grass,  which 
consists  of  varieties  of  the  mesquite,  probably 
the  finest  grass  for  sheep  and  beeves  in  the 
world,  and  quite  equal  to  the  white  clover  of 
the  North.  It  is  short,  fine,  exceedingly  palata- 
ble and  nutritious — stands  drouth  well,  and 
springs  up  like  magic  after  every  shower.  It 
is  not  entirely  killed  down  by  winter,  and  sub- 
sists flocks  throughout  the  year  without  the  ne- 
cessity of  artificial  food.  It  is  only  necessary 
for  the  emigrant  to  secure  a  homestead,  includ- 
ing land  enough  to  raise  family  supplies  from, 
and  his  stock  of  horses,  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs, 


204  FIVE   YEARS    IN   TEXAS. 

can  be  pastured  on  the  outlying  ranges  with  no 
expense  except  for  herdsmen  and  shepherds. 
No  rental  to  any  body.  Indeed,  a  single  man 
can  hire  his  board,  and  without  owning  or  hir- 
ing a  foot  of  land,  can  keep  large  flocks  and 
herds.  And  this  condition  of  things  must  con- 
tinue beyond  the  lifetime  of  the  present  genera- 
tion. 

Texas  stretches  through  ten  and  a  quarter 
degrees  of  latitude,  from  twenty-six  to  thirty-six 
and  one-fourth  degrees,  over  seven  hundred 
miles.  And  then  it  reaches  through  twelve  de- 
grees of  longitude,  which,  on  the  thirty-second 
parallel,  would  make  the  width  of  the  State 
about  seven  hundred  miles.  The  State  govern- 
ment has  already  laid  off  one  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  counties,  with  an  area  in  square  miles  of 
one  hundred  and  ninety-six  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  ninety-nine.  Territory  not  laid  off  in 
counties,  over  one-quarter  of  the  State,  includ- 
ing the  mountainous  part,  seventy-two  thousand 
three  hundred  and  eighty-five  square  miles. 
Total  square  miles  in  the  State,  two  hundred 
and  sixty-eight  thousand  six  hundred  and  eigh- 
ty-four. The  State  is  between  five  and  six  times 
as  large  as  the  State  of  New  York,  and  more 
than  three  and  a  half  times  larger  than  all  New 
England.  None  of  the  noted  kingdoms  of 


NORTHERN  TEXAS.  2O5 

Europe  approach  its  dimensions  except  Russia. 
Vast  portions  of  it  are  still  in  a  state  of  nature, 
and  the  balance  of  it  is  thinly  populated. 

There  is  no  grand  climatic  or  latitudinal  di- 
vision of  the  State  but  offers  its  peculiar  and 
special  inducements  to  immigrants.  Wheat, 
the  finest  in  the  world,  and  other  cereals,  with 
fruits,  etc.,  of  all  kinds,  in  the  north,  cotton  and 
sugar  in  the  southern-central  and  southeast, 
pine  lumber  and  cypress  in  the  east,  and  stock 
in  the  west. 

Southwestern  Texas  is  a  very  peculiar  por- 
tion of  the  State,  and  may  be  geographically 
described  as  lying  between  the  San  Antonio 
River  on  the  east,  and  the  Rio  Grande  on  the 
west,  and  south  and  southeast  of  the  road  run- 
ning from  San  Antonio  to  Eagle  Pass  on  the 
Rio  Grande,  containing  about  thirty  thousand 
square  miles. 

After  the  establishment  of  San  Antonio,  which 
we  believe  was  in  the  year  that  Philadelphia 
was  settled — called  Bexar  by  the  Spaniards  and 
Mexicans — many  years  passed  before  any  set- 
tlements were  attempted  between  that  post  and 
the  garrisons  and  towns  west  of  the  Rio  Grande. 
The  first  in  point  of  time  was  that  of  Senor 
Barrego,  who  in  the  forepart  of  the  seventeenth 
century  established  a  stock-raising  hacienda  at 


206  FIVE  YEARS  IN  TEXA3, 

a  place  called  "  Dolores,"  on  the  Rio  Grande, 
twenty- five  miles  below  the  present  site  of  Lo 
redo.  He  received  a  grant  from  the  King  of 
Spain,  of  seventy  leagues  of  land.  This  haci- 
enda was  afterward  destroyed. 

In  1757  the  town  of  Laredo  was  founded. 
This  place  was  a  sort  of  "  Presidio"  (Fort)  where 
the  inhabitants  were  armed  occupants  of  the  soil. 
And  it  proved  the  only  permanent  settlement  of 
the  Spaniards  on  the  lower  Rio  Grande.  After 
this  ranches  and  haciendas  were  gradually  ex- 
tended over  the  country,  between  the  Nueces 
River  and  Rio  Grande.  And  during  the  first 
quarter  of  the  present  century  extensive  herds 
of  horses  and  cattle,  and  flocks  of  sheep,  were 
pastured  between  the  two  rivers.  The  remains 
of  the  stone  buildings,  water  tanks  and  wells, 
are  still  to  be  seen.  The  troubles  attending  the 
attempt  of  the  Mexicans  to  separate  from  Spain 
invited  the  savage  hordes  from  the  north,  which 
had  been  kept  in  better  subjection  under  the 
system  of  Spain  than  they  have  ever  been  since, 
to  make  raids  upon  the  frontier  settlements, 
which  caused  the  country  to  be  nearly  vacated 
again. 

The  Texas  revolution  and  subsequent  border 
warfare  gave  the  finishing  touch  to  this  country. 
And  when  the  United  States  troops  under  Gen- 


NORTHERN   TEXAS.  20/ 

eral  Taylor  marched  from  Corpus  Christi  to  the 
Rio  Grande,  in  1846,  not  an  inhabitant  was  to 
be  found  between  the  Nueces  and  that  river.  It 
had  the  appearance  of  an  immense  desert  to  the 
army,  unused  as  they  were  to  such  treeless  pam- 
pas. The  immense  herds  of  cattle  and  horses,; 
left  to  take  care  of  themselves,  had  become  wild, 
and  had  greatly  increased;  and  as  "mustangs" 
grazed  over  those  plains  in  almost  countless 
hosts,  it  was  entirely  dangerous  for  a  man  to 
approach  them,  particularly  on  foot,  and  much 
more  so  even  on  horseback.  The  old  king 
mustang,  and  his  male  subordinates,  would  first 
drive  the  herd  into  corral  by  making  a  rushing, 
neighing  circuit  around  them,  and  then  make  a 
fearful  dash  at  the  human  intruder,  striking, 
kicking  and  biting  him  to  death. 

In  1850  the  Depopulation  of  that  country  fairly 
Commenced.  The  mustangs  were  killed  or 
caught  and  tamed,  and  "that  so-called"  desert 
has  been  steadily  filling  with  a  hardy  and  active 
race  of  stock-raisers. 

As  the  country  now  stands,  the  climate  is  de- 
cidedly unfavorable  to  agriculture.  And  unless 
some  plans,  on  a  magnificent  scale,  can  be  de- 
vised and  executed,  by  which  to  irrigate  that 
vast  and  rich  country,  the  main  dependence  will 
always  have  to  be,  as  heretofore,  on  the  flocks 


2O8  FIVE  YEARS   IN  TEXAS. 

and  herds.  The  climate  is  unseasonable ;  but 
not  so  much  for  want  of  rain ;  for  take  the  sea- 
sons through,  ample  supplies  of  rain  fall  for  all 
purposes,  if  they  only  came  at  the  right  time, 
and  in  proper  quantities.  The  planting  time  is 
from  January  to  May,  and  that  is  the  dry  period 
of  the  year.  It  often  happens  that  not  sufficient 
rain  falls  during  those  months  to  "  wet  a  pocket 
handkerchief."  When  it  rains  it  rains.  And 
during  the  other  months  of  the  year  the  torrents 
that  fall  upon  the  country  will  aggregate  twenty- 
five  to  thirty  inches.  It  is  not  extravagant  to 
affirm  that  if  the  water  could  be  utilized  in  some, 
as  yet  undiscovered  way,  that  country  would  be 
the  finest  in  the  world.  The  desert  (?)  would 
"bud  and  blossom  as  the  rose,"  in  all  temperate 
and  semi-tropical  products.  The  climate,  on 
account  of  the  dryness  of  the  winter  and  spring, 
is  as  healthy  as  could  be  desired. 

We  think  something  might  be  done  by  making 
earth  tanks  on  a  large  scale,  thereby  creating 
immense  artificial  lakes  at  convenient  points, 
and  at  proper  distances,  to  be  used  for  irrigating 
purposes  when  necessary,  and  thus  redeem  that 
beautiful  country  from  agricultural  waste.  It 
can  not  be  done,  however,  by  private  capital 
and  enterprise,  nor  by  small  corporations,  but 
might  be  by  heavy  ones,  under  the  material  en- 


NORTHERN  TEXAS.  209 

couragement  and  patronage  and  aid  of  the  Gen- 
eral and  State  governments,  by  money  and  land 
grants,  as  to  railroad  corporations.  And  doubt- 
less, in  time,  something  of  the  kind  will  be  done 
when  the  public  good  shall  demand  it.  The 
gardens  in  and  around  San  Antonio,  and  along 
the  river  for  miles  and  miles,  are  irrigated  from 
its  waters,  by  little  ditches  running  in  all  direc- 
tions, from  a  big  ditch  or  canal,  that  was  origin- 
ally built  by  the  Spanish  government  when  its 
various  missions  were  established  along  the  San 
Antonio  valley.  But  if  nothing  of  the  kind 
.should  be  done  in  the  future,  that  country  will 
forever  remain  the  finest  stock-raising  section  in 
the  United  States — the  paradise  of  horses,  sheep 
and  cattle.  There  is  little  doubt  that  the  tame 
•cattle  herds  of  to-day  outnumber  the  wild  ones 
•of  half  a  century  ago.  And  one  day  south- 
western Texas  will  export  half  a  million  of 
beeves  yearly. 
14 


OLD  LETTERS, 


CANTO  I 

;OMETIMES  old  letters  have  the  strangest  things 
Recorded  on  the  worn  and  sallow  page : 
The  writing,  too,  has  neither  head  nor  wings, 
But  one  would  think  that  insects  for  an  age 
Had  wip'd  their  tiny  feet  where  black  ink  clings, 
Regardless  of  the  ancient  scribbling  sage, 
"Whose  quill,  one  pointed  and  one  feather'd  end, 
Had  trail'd  away  his  thoughts  to  absent  friend. 

But  who  can  be  sure,  they're  any  more  queer 
Than  those  we  moderns  hast'ly  pen  to-day ; 
E'en  tho'  their  marks  so  odd  and  strange  appear, 
That  as  we  read  the  mind  doth  halt  and  stay 
Until  the  brain  hath  got  a  little  clear, 
In  order,  as  we  let  its  powers  play, 
We  well  can  solve  what  all  the  scribblings  mean, 
'Tis  so  at  six,  or  sev'n,  or  at  sixteen. 

The  language,  too,  is  no  more  queer  and  strange, 
As  thought  doth  spring  and  file  along  on  thought, 
And  spirits  meet  in  pleasant  interchange 
Of  fancies  told,  or  fancies  only  caught ; 

(213) 


214  OLD   LETTERS. 

And  scarcely  caught  at  that  in  his  small  range, 
As  some  poor  scribbler  has  his  fabric  wrought, 
And  in  the  wretched  scraping  swiftly  tells 
What  feeling  urges — what  his  bosom  swells. 

Those  who  would  have  this  sweetest  priv'lege  cease, 
Must  ingrate  be  in  senses  more  than  one ; 
Nor  dwell  at  home,  or  anywhere  in  peace, 
Though  parent,  friend,  daughter,  or  absent  son, 
Such  name  'twere  well  enough  they  should  release; 
Indeed,  'twere  well  it  never  had  begun, 
If  cold  neglect  in  writing  they  do  show, 
No  matter  if  the  mails  go  swift  or  slow. 

But  some  there  are  who  never  can  be  made 
To  answer  letters  until  ages  roll 
Almost  away,  or  letters  are  mislaid, 
Or  till  an  absent,  good,  and  loving  soul, 
Full  well  may  think  the  friendly  hand  has  stay'd, 
Or  that  the  troubled  fates  may  have  control, 
Or  illness  may — or  even  worse,  one's  doubts — 
Our  friend  is  gone  away,  or  else  in  pouts. 

And  yet,  most  happy  one  and  all  should  be, 

If  but  allow'd  to  bring  our  distant  friends 

So  near  that,  they  may  feel  and  truly  see 

Each  impulse  of  the  heart,  and  as  it  blends, 

Feel  truly  certain  that  we  have  the  key 

Which  opens  friendship's  valve,  and  makes  amends 

For  many  sad,  unkind,  and  ugly  things, 

That  daily  life  with  all  its  worry  brings. 

One  friend  I've  kad  for  many  steady  years. 
Who,  though  she  lives  a  thousand  miles  away, 
Comes  ever  with  her  joys,  her  hopes  and  fears; 
Before  me  every  feeling  doth  she  lay, 


OLD   LETTEES.  215 

Which  stirs  my  own  to  mingle  with  her  tears, 
And  ev'ry  throbbing  of  my  heart  doth  stay 
For  her,  till  all  she  feels,  or  thinks,  or  knows, 
Takes  root  in  my  own  breast,  and  there  it  grows. 

She  lives  in  icy — I  in  Southern  clime : 

And  e'en  as  the  bright-eyed  daughters  of  the  South, 

She  loves  this  land — so  many  years  now  mine ; 

Nor  deems  its  rainy  seasons,  or  its  drouth 

Objectionable,  or  so  out  of  time, 

If  Mail  sacks  but  unseal  their  widened  mouth, 

And  bring  her  freshly  posted  speedy  news 

From  me  and  mine,  where  fall  the  Southern  dews. 

When  fierce  war  raged,  and  battle  strife  ran  high, 

She  o'er  the  horrid  din  and  clamor  came — 

In  spirit  came — and  heav'd  a  weary  sigh ! 

We  look'd  together  on  the  bloody  plain, 

Until  our  crying  souls  no  more  could  cry. 

As  saw  we  our  own  braves'  expiring  pain ; 

"Father,  forgive"  this  wild,  this  raging  crew, 

"  For  "  in  their  strife  "  they  know  not  what  they  do  I1 

So  oft,  when  Cynth'a  pale,  rode  high  at  night, 
And  smiled  thro',  or  o'er  a  rift  of  clouds, 
She's  told  me  of  its  Deauty  and  pure  light, 
That  whitens  air,  like  newly  coffined  shrouds, 
And  makes  the  snows  so  flaky,  keen  and  bright, 
While  skaters  skim-the  icy  la"kes  in  crowds, 
And  she,  with  wishing,  longing  heart,  once  more 
Would  come,  or  bring  me  to  the  ice-bound  shore. 

In  weariness  of  heart,  the  mind  so  dwells 
On  all  its  windings  thro'  the  pleasant  past, 
Its  smooth  calm  seas,  and  undulating  swells. 
Its  earnest  aims  in  solemn  grandeur  cast, 


2l6  OLD   LETTERS. 

Leaves  impress  on  our  souls,  which  merely  tells 
Of  evanescent  things  that  can  not  last ; 
And  e'en  tho'  painful,  held  with  deep  regret, 
Unwillingly  would  we  ever  forget. 

This  is  a  long  and  quite  extended  reach, 
Of  that  begun  an  hour  or  two  ago ; 
And  looks  more  like  a  set  or  settled  speech, 
Than  like  the  stream  down  which  old  letters  flow : 
And  so,  dear  reader,  thro'  the  lengthen'd  breach, 
If  so  you  please,  we'll  travel  rather  slow, 
And  take  as  we  proceed — to  make  amends — 
Some  letter  missives  from  our  absent  friends. 

The  first  of  friendly  sort,  we  point  you  to, 
By  Lewis,  an  ally  of  the  "  lost  cause," 
Was  penn'd  at  night,  in  1862, 
When  subject  of  Confed'rate  army  laws, 
And  flew  the  show'ring  deadly  bullets,flew 
With  little  intermission — scarce  a  pause  ; 
And  when  men  bravelyfought,  with  might  and  main, 
To  gain  their  independence — but  in  vain. 

The  letter  said — 'twas  not  a  hasty  note — 
"  This  now  to  you,  may  prove  farewell,  in  fint ; 
"  We're  all  equipped,  and  waiting  for  the  boat, 
That  leaves  her  moorings  somewhere  close  to  nine, 
Which  soon  is  here — and  then  afloat,  afloat, 
And  by  the  morning  sun's  first  blushing  shine, 
We'll  wear  the  victor's  glorious  laurel  wreath, 
Or  else  be  shrouded  in  the  arms  of  death ! 

"I  know,  good  friend,  this  strain  must  give  you  pain; 
In  carelessness  I  would  not  take  a  step ; 
And  taking  this,  if  counted  with  the  slain, 
Poor  mother's  tears,  her  pillow  oft  will  wet 


6LD   LETTERS. 

For  me  I  know  — whom  she'll  ne'er  meet  again ; 
Yet  shall  I  hope,  before  the  next  sunset, 
That  she,  alike  yourself,  may  gladly  tell, 
There's  One  above,  who  doeth  all  things  well. 

"  There  are  some  things  to  jot  down  here,  that  I 
Would  kindly  ask,  my  dearest  friend,  of  you. 
If  I  am  hors  de  combat  plac'd,  and  die, 
Or  battle's  lost  or  gained — here's  my  adieu, 
But  please  this  letter  send — or  please  to  try — 
My  feelings  scarcely  can  I  now  subdue, 
While  fate  obstruent  says,  a  few  hours  more 
May  transport  all  to  an  unbroken  shore. 

"Should  fickle  fortune  frown,  and  leave  me  fall 
Into  unfriendly  and  blood-greedy  hands, 
'Twill  be  like  being— if  I  be  at  all- 
in  hands  next  like  to  those  of  savage  bands. 
It  doth  not  matter  on  this  earthly  ball, 
So  much  where  one  may  be,  or  what  breeze  fans. 
The  unhappy  casualties  the  post  will  cite, 
Ere  one  more  sun  has  settled  into  night. 

"Dear  Charley's  going  too — the  noble  boy — 
She's  sad  to  see  him  with  the  warring  host. 
His  joyous  look,  'tis  a  pity  to  destroy  ; 
A  thousand  pities  more  his  life  were  lost. 
But  she  knows  well,  naught  but  the  main  decoy, 
Could  take  him  thus  from  her,  he  loves  the  most. 
God  grant  him  life — a  long  and  happy  life, 
And  one  with  blessings,  free  from  battle's  strife. 

"And  now,  kind  friend,  I  say  a  sad  good-by ; 
The  rolling  drum  doth  call  us  to  repair — 
Under  the  dull,  though  quiet  darken'd  sky; 
That  may  so  soon  be  turn'd  to  lurid  glare, 


2l8  OLD   LETTERS. 

As  cannons  play,  and  iron  missels  fly — 
To  duty — parcel'd  out  to  each  a  share : 
But  none  of  us  can  tell  the  sad  finale : 
And  now  again  I  say,  good-by,  farewell !" 

And  thus  the  letter  ended — in  a  strain, 

That  led  beloved  ones  at  home  to  think, 

If  war  should  spare,  that  he  would  speak  again  ; 

But  give  us  news  from  which  the  heart  would  shrink, 

For  so  is  all  that  comes  from  battle  plain, 

Where  death  holds  ev'ry  dear  one  on  his  brink. 

Such  is  the  fate  of  war — the  olden  story, 

Where  men  invest  their  lives  in  search  of  glory. 

And  shall  I  tell,  how  with  her  hand  in  mine, 
Poor  Mary  sat,  and  leaned  upon  my  breast ; 
And  how  her  tears  fell  down  on  ev'ry  line ; 
And  how,  before  the  morning  sun's  first  shine, 
Her  weary  form  was  out,  and  loosely  dress'd ; 
And  how  she  pac'd  the  room  the  live  long  day, 
Till  ev'ning  light  had  lost  its  latest  ray ! 

Poor  child  !  the  premonition  seemed  to  be, 
That  many  trials  were  in  store  for  her, 
Altho'  their  unveil'd  form  she  could  not  see  ; 
The  thought  brought  in  her  eyes  a  fi'ry  blue : 
O,  for  some  hope  to  which  her  heart  could  flee ! 
Some  healing  balm  the  stony  fates  would  stir  ! 
But  ere  the  week  had  told  its  length'ning  round 
The  secret  of  her  sick'ning  fears  was  found. 

Suspended  hope  for  three  long  days — then  came 

The  welcome  letter  from  our  hero-friend  ; 

He  was  alive — unhurt,  and  just  the  same. 

And  humbly  thanked  high  heav'n  for  such  an  end  ; 

But  ah !  how  many,  maay  could  he  name, 


OLD   LETTERS.  2ig 

Who  would,  with  his,  their  own  dear  voices  blend 

No  more  along  the  lines  of  coming  years; 

And  to  their  friends  could  nothing  leave — but  tears. 

"  O !  would,  the  feelings  which  my  bosom  filFd," 
He  said,  "as  stiil  we  glided  down  the  tide, 
And  all  around  in  nature  calm  and  still'd — 
I  could  portray — I  felt  I  could  have  died  ! 
No  matter  then,  if  soon  I  should  be  killed ; 
If  all  I  lov'd,  and  ev'rything  beside, 
Should  leave  this  beautiful,  enchanting  world, 
And  into  death's  cold,  cruel  arms  be  hurl'd ! 

"  No  sound  was  heard  till  late  at  night.    The  moon 
Then  rose,  and  softly  also  rose  the  wind, 
And  swept  away  across  the  low  lagoon, 
Where  battle  soon  would  rage  a  very  fiend, 
And  o'er  the  next  day's  fair  and  glowing  noon  ; 
And,  raging  in  its  lion  anger,  find 
Its  grim  and  ugly  den  of  horrors  filTd 
With  precious  blood  terrific  strife  had  spilPd. 

"And  Charley" — Thus  this  sad'ning  part  began — 
"  Is  now  among  the  noble  ones  laid  low ; 
Grim  death  will  ne'er  hew  down  a  better  man ; 
And  we,  his  friends,  a  better  crave  to  know. 
Horror !  I  saw  his  life-blood  as  it  ran, 
And  then  I  thought — for  Mary  what  a  blow  ! 
'Twill  rend  and  crush  her  young  and  grieving  heart  1 
So  good — and  oh,  how  sad  that  thus  they  part  1 

He  near  the  gunwale  bravely — manly  stood, 
When  o'er  the  waters  came  the  nmrd'rous  shell, 
And  with  four  comrades,  swept  him  do\vn  in  blood; 
They  early  in  the  carnage  quickly  fell ; 
He  rais'd  his  head  from  midst  the  oozing  flood, 


22O  OLD   LETTERS. 

And  calmly  listened  to  the  changing  knell ; 
Then  eyeing  me,  he  said,"  "  Come  Louis,  come — 
My  life  ebbs  fast— I'll  soon  be  going  home ' 

Will  you  to  Mary  my  last  token  bring, 

And  promise,  ere  my  eyes  are  sealed  in  death, 

To  carry  her  this  tiny  diamond  ring  ; 

And  tell  her  then,  that  at  my  latest  breath, 

I'm   thinking  of  the  songs  she  used  to  sing ; 

And  also  tell  her  of  my  holy  faith 

In  her  truth  and  her  pure,  undying  love ; 

Which  can  be  seal'd  but  in  the  world  above? 

"  And  have  my  body  carried  back  to  where 

The  brothers,  in  the  holy  mystic  ties, 

Will  gather  in  the  Lodge  with  solemn  prayer, 

Before  'tis  laid  beneath  the  open  skies. 

'Twill  do  me  good  to  know  I'm  sleeping  there; 

Ah,  see  !  grim  darkness  comes  !  the  hour  how  flies ! 

Some  other  things  there  are,  I  wish'd  to  say, 

But  too  late  now  !  night — home — Mary — 'tis  day !" 

"I  promis'd  all — then  gently  laid  his  head, 
First  on  a  knapsack,  then  upon  my  arm ; 
Once  more  he  op'd  his  eyes,  and  smiling,  said, 
*  Thanks,  Lew — I'll  soon  be  far  from  war's  alarm.' 
Once  more  he  press'd  my  hand,  and  then  was  dead ! 
I  laid  him  down — no  fear  of  coming  harm, 
For  none  could  pain  that  cold  and  lifeless  form ; 
Now  all  was  past — let  battles  rage  and  storm. 

"Of  more  than  this,  I've  scarcely  time  to  speak ; 
You'll  find  reports  when  papers  come  with  news ; 
E'en  yet,  I  seem  to  hear  the  cannon's  shriek, 
As  horrid  forth  their  belching  thunder  spews, 
In  vengeance  dire  and  most  terrific  wreak, 


OLD   LETTERS.  221 

And  covers  friend  and  foe  with  death-damp  dews ! 
How  sinks  and  quails  the  heart  at  the  dread  sight, 
When  war  turns  fairest  day  to  blackest  night. 

"  The  fun'ral  pageantry — the  solemn  toll, 
The  cortege,  like  a  serpent,  winding  through, 
The  muffled  drum's  long-sounding  gloomy  roll, 
The  death  corrode  that  o'er  the  senses  grew, 
Or  sick'ning  chill  which  o'er  one's  spirit  stole, 
The  dead  marcl>  tap — they  all  seern  still  in  view — 
'Twas  thus  they  bore  him  to  the  silent  bourne, 
From  whence,  in  old  earfli  form,  he'll  ne'er  return. 

"  All  these  and  more — the  measur'd  tread 
Of  good,  brave  men,  who  slowly  wound  along 
With  his  remains,  to  their  last  resting  place — 
I  scarce  can  realize  that  he  is  gone, 
And  that  his  form  lies  mold'ring  with  the  dead  ; 
That  we're  no  more  to  hear  his  joyous  song — 
I  say,  all  these  are  trooping  through  my  mind, 
Like  ghostly  phantoms  of  some  awful  kind. 

"  I'd  ask,  before  this  missive  I  do  close, 
Which  now  has  grown  to  an  unusual  size, 
Tho'  half  is  still  unwritten,  heaven  knows — 
That  you  will  comfort  Mary,  when  her  eyes 
Are  blinded  with  sore  weeping  o'er  the  woes, 
That  will  wring  out  her  soul  in  deep  well-cries, 
And  rend  in  sorrowing  weariness  her  breast, 
Which  now  scarce  anything  can  soothe  to  rest. 

"  Yet  be  a  comfort  and  a  friendly  stay, 
And  bid  her  grapple  with  her  fate — not  grieve, 
Please  try  to  soothe  the  blinding  tears  away, 
Though  little  now  can  sorrow  much  relieve, 
Or  shed  of  joy  or  bliss  a  single  ray. 


222  OLD   LETTERS. 

Ah !  tell  her  how  my  soul  is  double  brave, 
Since't  feels  the  spirit  touch  of  Charley's  soul; 
But  thoughts  are  quite  beyond  my  word  control. 

"A  few  more  items  yet,  and  I  have  done. 

I  would  the  warmest  gratitude  express, 

And  obligations  deep  I  owe  to  one — 

Whose  heart  is  with  her  friends  in  their  distress, 

And  when  their  joys  come  on,  exceed  her  none, 

In  spontanieties,  to  smile  or  bless — 

To  you,  Lottie — who  disappointments  share, 

All  that  your  tender  prompting  well  can  bear. 

"  And  now,  good  friend,  I  feel  I'm  badly  needing 

A  little  respite  from  the  past  few  days, 

Whose  strange  events  have  set  a  canker  feeding 

Within  my  breast,  where  wooing  quiet  stays ; 

But  now,  at  times,  I  feel  it  must  be  bleeding, 

My  very  brain  is  in  a  dizzy  haze 

Of  horrid  things  that  in  succession  fly 

Before  my  eyes,    Once  more,  dear  friend,  good-by. 


OLD   LETTERS.  22J 


CANTO  II 

>F  there  be  anything  that  is  heartrending, 
It  is  when  called  upon  to  yield  our  cheer 
To  those  whose  joys  have  found  a  sudden  ending, 
Indeed  the  task's  a  hopeless  one — that's  clear — 
To  attempt  to  improve  upon  or  save  by  mending. 
As  well  essay  to  move  a  planet  from  its  sphere, 
As  talk    to  any  one  whose  real  sorrow 
Has  pass'd  the  line  where  he  was  wont  to  borrow. 

I've  tried  it  oft,  and  given  o'er  the  task ; 

And  hopeful  too  as  any  woman  that  e'er  tried, 

Or  man  either,  e'en  though  he  wore  the  mask, 

That  Satan  wore  to  set  our  mother  Eve  beside 

Herself  enough  to  think,  and  curious  ask, 

Why  she  was  ever  made,  or  ever  tied 

Upon  this  curious  revolving  ball, 

And  where  her  crazy  actions  brought  "  the  fall." 

That  was  the  fearful  thing  in  nature's  God — 
The  giving  to  that  simple  child  the  power 
To  tread  where  his  own  mighty  footstops  trod ! 
The  gloomy  clouds  o'er  all  mankind  since  low'r, 
And  lay  their  stubborn  heads  beneath  the  sod ! 
His  grandchild  might  have  bloom'd  supernal  flow'r, 
Of  all  the  grand  and  awful  fabrication, 
Nor  need  redemption  nor  regeneration, 


224  OLD   LETTERS. 

Perhaps  such  questions  we've  no  right  to  put, 

Unto  the  Framer  of  the  Universe ; 

To  our  inquis'tiveneness  his  doors  are  shut, 

On  dit — and  recommended  well  of  course, 

By  the  theologist  in  pious  hut, 

With  clearing  small  around — or  what  is  worse, 

He  lives  beyond  where  busy  thoughts  do  center, 

And  so  beyond  the  pale  where  gossips  enter. 

But  then  theology  is  not  the  theme 
To  claim  my  present  labor  or  my  time. 
We'll  then  retire  to  Mary's  broken  dream  ; 
Although  the  task  is  hard,  in  changing  rhyme, 
To  waft  her  smoothly  down  life's  whirling  stream. 
And  land  her  safe  in  any  pleasant  clime, 
When  knowing  that  her  dearest  hopes  have  pal'd, 
And  every  sweet  anticipation  fail'd, 

My  muse  has  sung  the  task,  a  hopeless  one, 

To  offer  balm  to  one  in  woe  not  found ; 

Or  being  found,  it  meets  a  chronic  tone. 

To  raise  the  sadden'd  brow  when  sorrow  crown'd, 

Is  near  a  failure  ere  the  task's  begun ; 

'Tis  throwing  straws  to  one  already  drown'd ; 

The  light  frail  things  are  in  a  feeble  clasp, 

And  serve  no  other  purpose  than  to  grasp. 

You  may  try  this,  or  that,  or  other  thing, 
And  find  each  move  is  not  responsive  met, 
Except  to  prove  abortive,  and  to  fling 
Your  kindest  purpose  back,  from  efforts  set 
In  bounds  of  common  sense-^another  ring, 
Within  whose  compass  many  chafe  and  fret, 
To  fery'to  lead  a  moocly  woful  mind— 
Tis  but  a  task  where  blind  must  lead  the 


OLD   LETTERS.  225 

^X 

"When  fate — the  dark-brow'd  Mistress — l?vs  her  hand 

With    heavy   weight  upon  a  mortal  wight, 

It  is  as  if  King  Terror's  deadly  wand 

Had  swept  along,  and  wither 'd  left  and  right; 

Or  like  one's  bark,  left  on  a  sullen  strand, 

Where  soundless  waters  rise  in  fury's  might, 

Hock  on  and  on,  in  sullen  moaning  clash, 

Unmindful  of  the  human  wrecks  they  dash. 

Bancroft  Libra? 

And  Mary — still  I  hear  her  stifled  moan, 
As  vainly  the  letter  she  tried  to  read, 
The  anguish  of  her  low,  distressful  groan, 
Would  cause  a  heart  of  adamant  to  bleed. 
It  seem'd  her  brain  were  like  a  flaming  stone ; 
Her  heart  a  torn  and  bent  and  broken  reed ; 
And  such  a  look  of  wan  and  woeful  pain  ! 
God  grant  me  such  a  likeness  ne'er  again 

Next  day  they  bore  her  to  her  city  home, 
With  life  enough  scarce  left, her  frame  to  bear; 
All  had  been  swept  away  like  wild  sea  foam, 
And  nothing  left  but  a  fond  mother's  care, 
To  nurse  away  the  fever  which  had  come ; 
A  fit  attendant  of  her  woes,  and  share — 
A  heated  languor  with  sufficient  breath 
To  hold  her  just  within  the  porch  of  death. 


226  OLD   LETTERS. 


CANTO  III, 

UT  turn  we  now  to  other  scenes  than  these, 
At  least  awhile,  and  take  a  cheerful  look, 
As  trav'ler  looks  from  sand  to  greenleaf  trees, 
And  'neath  the  shade  where  runs  the  babbling  brook, 
Who  doffs  his  hat  to  the  refreshing  breeze, 
And  reading  nature  as  a  living  book, 
He  feels  her  smiling,  in  its  joyous  glim, 
Has  such  a  sweet  affinity  for  him. 

Life  should  not  be  all  terrors — nor  its  charms 
Be  life-long  raptures,  or  unending  songs ; 
When  both  are  blended,  each  alike  disarms; 
Nor  constant  good  nor  ill,  alone  belongs 
To  life — one  only  brings  us  moral  harms, 
And  on  our  poor  humanity,  great  wrongs  ; 
For  by  the  constant  sameness  would  man's  deeds 
Defeat  all  progress  that  to  greatness  leads. 

So  from  the  gloomy  picture  drawn  above, 
We'll  turn  away  and  find  a  brighter  side. 
Let  not  the  drooping  Mary  die  of  love, 
As  many  storied  ones  have  lov'd  and  died ; 
Nor  solitaire  in  heart  forever  rove ; 
But  bid  her  all  life's  changes  firm  abide ; 
Her  case  is  hom'opathic,  w.e  discover — 
SimUia  simttibv*  curanter. 


OLD   LETTERS.  22/ 

Months  came  and  went,  and  still  she  linger'd  on, 
At  home  by  the  sea.     Its  solitary  shore, 
Was  truvers'd  often  by  her  step  alone; 
Somehow  the  dark  sea's  surging,  sullen  roar, 
Brought  quietude,  when  elsewhere  she  found  none ; 
Her  daily  lone  walks  there  were  many  score. 
Philosophy  no  pedagogue  can  teach 
Is  souietimes  found  upon  a  lonely  beach. 

Tne  saddest,  yet  the  sweetest  melancholy, 
Inspires  a  feeble,  slow  reviving  frame, 
If  but  allow 'd  to  steal  from  heartless  folly, 
Away  from  all  that  bears  the  social  name ; 
And  'neath  the  spreading  evergreen  sea-holly, 
Check  down  the  tires  of  disappointment's  flame ; 
And  thereby  give  the  thoughts  a  purer  turn, 
And  cool  the  heated  caldron  where  they  burn. 

In  such  a  state,  the  bubbles  we  pursue 
Seem  but  the  vaunt  of  sickly  strength  and  pride; 
We're  on  our  way,  a  weary  wand'ring  through, 
With  fallen  hopes  flung  losely  on  the  tide 
Of  morbid  aims — whose  almost  crying  hue 
Is  pencil'd  by  dull  care.     Nor  can  we  hide 
The  care-worn  hues  with  careful  toilet  hands  ; 
The  glass  of  life  drops  slow,  but  sure,  the  sands. 

The  tameless  passions  frequent  in  the  breast, 
Are  like  the  molten  waves  of  ^Etna's  fire ; 
Knowing  nor  years,  nor  months,  nor  weeks  of  rest — 
Tho'  some  there  are  to  better  things  aspire — 
Impulses  whatsoe'er,  not  one  repress'd ; 
Their  every  song's  a  ceaseless  never  tire, 
And  no  reflection  in  its  secret  springs, 
On  what  demands  it  'mid  a  thousand  things. 


228  OLD   LETTERS. 

Her  letters  oft  were  fill'd  with  moaning  words, 
Whose  sadden'd  tone  inspir'd  one's  heart  with  awe  ; 
E'en  her  description  of  sweet  singing  birds 
Did  moan — and  so  did  all  she  heard  and  saw. 
Home-sheltered — like  the  flock  the  shepherd  herds — 
Where  she  would  fain  from  prying  eyes  withdraw, 
There  dead  monotony  did  reign  and  sigh, 
That  tells  how  near  the  fount  of  tears  is  dry. 

And  yet  me  thought  her  grief  had  soften'd  down 

More  in  that  calm  inertia — settled  state — 

Whose  features  wore,  nor  smile,  nor  cheer,  nor  frown  > 

A  kind  of  understanding  with  Dame  Fate, 

That  wreathing  thus  her  brow  with  sorrow's  crown, 

Were  far  less  sad  than  when  'twere  wrought  too  late 

To  wear  its  jagging  ugly  thorns,  and  give 

A  single  farthing  for  such  life  to  live. 

At  length  news  came — how  Arthur  Wildbent  had 
So  kindly  driven  her  along  the  strand ; 
And  air-improv'd,  it  made  us  all  so  glad. 
That  last  reunion,  while  the  Mel  rose  Band 
Discoursed  sweet  music,  she  had  been  less  sad ; 
That  once  she  gam'd  croquet  with  cheerful  hand, 
And  beat — but  beat  old  Melancholy  better, 
And  hence  she  boasted  of  it  in  her  letter. 

She  frequent  made  the  balmy  ev'ning  drive 
Adown  the  beach,  so  like  a  sanded  floor ; 
Where  white-capp'd  waves,  that  seeni'd  almost  alive, 
Did  chase  each  other  to  the  shining  shore, 
Buzzing  like  restless  bees  within  the  hive ; 
Or,  like  the  porpoise,  rolling  by  the  score, 
Tho'  gathering  nothing  in  their  briny  splash, 
Except  the  wat'ry  pearls  to  shore  they  dash. 


OLD    LETTERS.  22Q 

'Tis  true,  she  always  miss'd  good  Charley  when, 
The  ev'ning  throngs  were  wont  to  congregate — 
The  greatest  press  was  on  her  spirits  then — 
Howe'er  they  whirl'd  in  dance,  or  stood,  or  sat, 
Not  one  amid  the  gallant  crowd  of  men, 
Could  for  his  absence  ever  compensate, 
Unless  it  might  be  Lewis — who  to-day 
Reminded  her  of  him  who'd  pass'd  away. 

Life  had  its  pleasures,  beauty  had  the  world; 
Tho'  fewest  of  them  had  been  brought  to  bear 
Upon  a  destiny  like  hers,  so  furl'd  ; 
Scarce  naught  of  either  could  be  painted  there  ; 
All  romance  so  remotely  had  been  hurl'd, 
She  lik'd  some  work  of  lonely  quiet,  where 
By  somber  daylight,  or  by  flick'ring  taper, 
Her  inburst  feelings  she  could  note  on  paper. 

Life's  new  sensations  are  but  few  and  precious — 
Thus  speaks  some  writer  of  some  wondrous  cave  ; 
It  may  be  Mammoth,  with  its  caverns  spacious ; 
Whose  floors,  obliv'ous,  Leth'an  waters  lave ; 
And  when  we  wander  thro'  them,  strange  refresh  us ; 
Most  surely  do,  if  we  but  catch  and  save, 
For  rarest  of  all  rare  delicious  dishes, 
A  string  full  of  the  tiny  eyeless  fishes. 

But  where  find  we  in  life, sensations  new? 
Such  as  have  never  yet  been  told,  we  mean. 
Of  Such,  me  thinks  indeed,  the  number's  few; 
And  may  not  reach  one  even  in  a  dream. 
'Tis  true,  we  often  all  the  old  renew, 
Which  to  one's  own  sensations  new  may  seem ; 
And  yet  they  but  repeat — so  we  believe — 
All  those  once  told  by  Adam  to  his  Eve, 


23O  OLD   LETTERS. 

Yes,  so  far  told,  as  then  it  could  be  done, 

In  the  beginning  time  of  this  world's  ways — 

Thro'  which  their  course  to  pick,  they'd  just  begun — 

But  not  express'd  in  such  poetic  lays, 

As  down  the  rippling  tide  of  language  run 

The  thought  and  feeling  of  the  later  days; 

And  more's  the  pity — since  their  employment 

Seems  but  a  very  circumscribed  enjoyment. 

"  'Tis  now  two  years  since  Charley  pass'd  away," 
She  wrote,  "  and  I  have  liv'd  for  him  as  true 
As  any  one  who  keeps  her  wedding  day  ; 
'Till  lately  I  have  somewhat  chang'd  my  view; 
'Tis  not  so  well  for  one  to  mourn  alway ; 
The  news,  sweet  friend,  the  news  I'll  break  to  you — 
Unless  this  letter  meet  with  a  miscarriage — 
And  own  to  you,  again  I  think  of  marriage. 

"And  you  may  guess  my  choice,  the  favor'd  one; 
He's  more  like  him  than  any  I  have  met, 
Indeed,  than  any  I  have  ever  known  ; 
And  this  is  why  my  heart  is  on  him  set; 
I  can  not  always  pass  my  life  alone, 
The  choice  I  feel  that  I  shall  ne'er  regret ; 
You  know  him  well,  and  know  I  never  can — 
Search  o'er  the  earth — secure    a    better  man. 

"Somehow  I  feel  myself  so  sadly  chang'd, 
I'm  scarce  the  same  you  knew  in  days  of  yore; 
My  sorrow  hath  so  much  my  mind  derangd, 
Instead  of  twenty  years,  I  feel  fourscore. 
From  youthful  pleasures  I'm  so  far  estrang'd, 
Myself  doth  seem  a  matron  grave,  and  hoar 
With  silvered  front,  and  seems  a  grave  surprise, 
That  I'm  not  trying  to  repair  my  eyes. 


OLD   LETTERS. 

"  I  aim  to  do  my  duty  as  I  ought, 

And  of  his  life  be  crowning  joy  and  bliss, 

That  Lew  may  realize  how  ev'ry  thought, 

From  wedding  day  to  death,  shall  be  all  his; 

And  ev'ry  purpose  shall  be  truly  taught, 

That  wifely  love  should  point  alone  to  this; 

So  in  our  union  we  may  find  repair 

For  all  the  sorrows  both  have  had  to  bear." 


23* 


